Johnny Showtime: ROOFMAN

 by JB

Boy! Don’t believe trailers!

I was lied to. Before Roofman opened on October 10, I swear I saw the trailer more than a dozen times. The film was being sold as a zany comedy: Channing Tatum finds a way to live in an operating Toys "R" Us store managed by Peter Dinklage. He sleeps during the day and bathes in the restroom. Zany!

Nope.

I finally got around to watching the film last weekend, and it blew me away. Parts of it are comic, yes, but the overall tone is one of oppressive melancholy, a tone that is far harder to market to a public that has all but stopped going out to the movies. I was impressed by the movie’s ability to present “real reality” as opposed to “movie reality.” This movie gets the small details right of what it was like to live in this country day-to-day in 2004.

THE PLOT IN BRIEF: Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) returns from military service unable to find or keep a job. He loves his family, but cannot provide for them. Using some of the skills he learned in the army, he begins to rob area McDonalds restaurants, breaking in through the roof and stealing the payroll. Local law enforcement name him “Roofman.” Manchester is caught and goes to prison, but he breaks out and hides in a local Toys "R" Us. He becomes involved with one of the employees, Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst), and grows close to her two daughters. As his situation becomes untenable, Manchester realizes it’s time to make some hard decisions about the rest of his life.

Have I mentioned that Roofman is based on a true story?

The film's authentic feel should come as no surprise. Director Derek Cianfrance (A Place Beyond the Pines, Blue Valentine) reportedly interviewed the real Jeffrey Manchester four days a week for four years before writing the script. Roofman is full of little details that only Manchester could have provided. “What’s it like to bathe in the sink of a Toys "R" Us restroom?” "What’s it like to subsist on Peanut M&M’s?” “What’s it like to break through the roof of a strip mall, only to find yourself in the wrong store?”

I like that Roofman does not use the church for easy punchlines. Ben Mendelsohn’s Pastor Ron and his wife are honestly interested in helping their flock: organizing a toy drive at Christmas, singles events for lonely parishioners, a lively church choir, and cheerful potluck get-togethers. When the local news reports that the town's Toys "R" Us manager was beset by a naked homeless man one morning, everyone thinks it a funny story, but Kirsten Dunst’s character correctly points out that it’s sad that any man was living like that, and that she and her fellow churchgoers “weren’t being very good Samaritans to him.”

All of the performances are amazing. I am already a fan of Channing Tatum, but this might be his best role yet. I love how Kirsten Dunst nails a woman of a certain age—strong and capable but desperately lonely. Peter Dinklage plays such a specific type here: he’s the boss and he’s such a dick... but he’s not all bad and he’s good at what he does. Ben Mendelsohn is always great, but as Pastor Ron, he plays against type and is sincere and believable. Uzo Aduba is terrific as his wife. Lakeith Stanfield and Juno Temple turn in great character work in their few scenes together. And Manchester’s first robbery victim, McDonald’s manager Duane, is played by Tony Revolori, who played young lobby boy Zero in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel!

Stick around for the end credits! You'll recognize a few people from the actual story. Charles Cummings, the truck driver who unwittingly drove Manchester out of prison, plays himself; Katherine Scheimreif, Manchester’s real arresting officer, appears as a church parishioner; and real-life Pastor Ron Smith has a cameo as a pawn shop owner.

I do not intend to go on and on about this little gem and therefore spoil it. I urge you to see this film. Like Splitsville from earlier this year, we must not allow these smaller, non-blockbusters to fall through the cracks. I found Roofman both entertaining and thoughtful (two qualities in short supply when discussing recent movie fare) and I think you will too.