'Roofman' Review: Channing Tatum Charms as an Irritating Robber With a Heart of Gold
Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond the Pines, Blue Valentine) made his own Bernie. You know, that underrated Richard Linklater bio-drama portrait starring Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine about a good mortician who kills his spoiled, rich, and widowed best friend? Yes, Cianfrance achieved lesser results with the copy-and-paste approach in Roofman, a crime drama starring Channing Tatum as an inconsistently airheaded robber with a heart of gold. In attempts to be heartfelt and enticing, it's capital-C cheesy, mostly held together by Tatum and an even more captivating Kirsten Dunst. It made me miss 2004, though.
Image copyright (Š) Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
MPA Rating: R (Language, nudity and brief sexuality.)
Runtime: 2 Hours and 6 Minutes
Language: English
Production Companies: High Frequency Entertainment, Hunting Lane Films, 51 Entertainment, Limelight
Distributor: Miramax, Paramount Pictures
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Writers: Derek Cianfrance, Kirt Gunn
Cast: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Ben Mendelsohn, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Melonie Diaz, Uzo Aduba, Lily Collias, Jimmy O. Yang, Peter Dinklage
Release Date: October 10, 2025
Jeffrey Manchester (Tatum), a former member of the U.S. Army Reserve, was unable to provide for his family in 2000. He robbed 45 McDonald's in Charlotte, North Carolina, by climbing roofs and entering through the vent, rather than finding employment. The news outlets dubbed him "roofman." Eventually, Manchester's crime spree comes to an end when he is arrested at home in front of his daughter and two boys. Four years into his 45-year sentence, he escapes and goes on the run. Waiting for his fellow soldier friend Steve (LaKeith Stanfield) to provide him with an escape plan, he infiltrates a Toys R Us. He locates a remote spot where he can hide, switches off the security cameras, and makes it his home, subsisting on baby food and chocolates. To top it all off, he watches workers like a reality show via baby monitors. He typically watches manager Mitch (Peter Dinklage) chastise his staff for everything, including fat-shaming Otis (Emory Cohen) and refusing to give his employees sustainable work hours. One of the other employees, Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a down-to-earth single mom, invites Jeffrey to church. He visits Leigh and subsequently develops a romantic relationship with her, serving as a father figure to her daughters, Lindsay (Lily Collias) and Dee (Kennedy Moyer). How long can Manchester continue to play in between his crimes?
Roofman's 2000s-style decor and slice-of-life approach gives it a cozy feel.
Channing Tatum stars in Paramount Pictures' "ROOFMAN." | Š 2025 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Nostalgia is a disease I hate to be afflicted by. Although most of Roofman takes place in 2004, which makes it a period piece in and of itself (haha, fuck, I AM OLD), Cianfrance's attention to detail helped with the texturing of the timeframe. Nailing the nostalgia of a Toys R Us or when the inside of a McDonald's looked like old-fashioned diners, the production designers truly transport you to the early 2000s.
Cianfrance, who diverges from his usual, cerebral, artsy fare, takes a grounded, familiar, slice-of-life approach to Roofman. The viewer delves into Manchester's circumstances, his sloppy heists, and the moral values that impede his actions. Initially, I found myself empathetic towards him as â like many former American veterans â heâs discharged with little support from the government and had to turn to crime to provide for himself.
Tatum Charms in Roofman, despite Manchester's irritating characterization.
Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst star in Paramount Pictures' "ROOFMAN." | Š 2025 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Nevertheless, Manchester's character remains stagnant as he develops a new identity as an escapee and becomes romantically involved with Leigh while residing at Toys R Us, where she is employed. Derek Cianfrance and Kirt Gunn's screenplay portrays him as a "polite" prisoner, a Paddington-like figure, but it also makes him inconsistent. He oversteps people's boundaries and puts others in danger with his self-righteous attitude, especially Leigh. His need to hear people say âgood morning,â whether intimidating them during a robbery or parenting Leighâs daughters, veers my positive perception of him or the intention of a misguided convict with a heart of gold into an insufferable guy. No matter how much good advice people in the same situation give him, he won't listen. As always, Tatum is incredibly charming, but his character flaws make him more annoying than entertaining.
The grounded atmosphere generally works well for Roofman, but there are quick swings between sweet, sincere moments thanks to Tatum and Dunst's chemistry, and Hallmark moments with unnecessary voiceovers of Manchester going on tangents about his background or stating the obvious about his story. The actors' generic roles add to the film's schmaltzy quality. Ben Mendelsohn and Uzo Aduba have little to do as a married Christian couple that attends Leighâs church. Stanfield tries his damndest to make what little material he has work, and Juno Temple spawns out of nowhere as his girlfriend. Peter Dinklage's portrayal of the sitcom-style asshole boss is amusing. However, these high-caliber actors are given a hors d'oeuvre of roles. Itâs a waste to have its cast stacked the way they do.
This excludes Kirsten Dunst. As Leigh, she is a normal single-mom and devout church woman trying to make ends meet and raising her daughters. Yet, Dunst portrays her in such a naturalistic manner and with humanity on her sleeve that by the climax, she becomes a stealth agent whose grounded portrayals can elicit tears and leave you wondering how this could have happened.
Final Statement
Roofman is a passable crime drama that features excellent performances by Tatum and Dunst, providing a comprehensive humanistic portrayal with more heart than compelling characters.
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