★★½ (2½ out of 4)
Channing Tatum’s star power certainly comes in handy in “Roofman,” a slight but oddly sweet story of a real-life career criminal named Jeffrey Manchester. A former United States Army Reserve soldier, Manchester became known as the "Rooftop Robber" or simply "Roofman" by drilling holes into the roofs of the stores he was robbing for easy access.
Never mind that the Roofman would hold employees at gunpoint; he always said “please” or “thank you” or “I’m so sorry” to his victims, especially those he held captive in a freezer so he could make his escape. Look, he let them wear their coats if he could.
Truth isn’t just stranger than fiction in “Roofman,” it blows it out of the water. And Tatum has the reserves of charm to make you see how Jeff almost got away with it. And how he could sweet-talk single mom Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst) into falling in love with him. Leigh has no idea that Jeff is a wanted criminal, but Tatum and Dunst could give lessons in chemistry, so beguiling are they as a couple.
I can’t help feeling a loss of psychological depth in pursuit of a more crowd-pleasing entertainment. Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst, as sublime as they are, could have used more time to show the hurt that might wipe the smiles off their faces and ours.
Let’s say right off that “Roofman” lacks the storm of feeling and deep melancholy that director Derek Cianfrance brought to “Blue Valentine” and “The Place Beyond the Pines,” the two volatile passion plays he made with Ryan Gosling. Those movies hit hard—no mercy.
In “Roofman,” Cianfrance and co-writer Kirt Gunn take a less tortured approach that even leaves room for comedy. They sketch in Manchester’s post-army life as a father of three who adores his kids but whose wife (Melonie Diaz) wants him out. It’s his army buddy Steve (the always welcome LaKeith Stanfield) who tells Jeff his powers of observation are the tools of a natural thief.
Before long, Jeff is lowering himself down the roofs of dozens of McDonald’s, stealing more than enough to support his kids. But not for long. Cut to his capture, prison time and a daring escape that sees him hiding out for months in a Toys “R” Us outlet in Charlotte, North Carolina. He spies on the rat store manager Mitch, spikily slimed by Peter Dinklage, and intercedes when he sees Mitch’s Scrooge-like treatment of Leigh, who—whadda you know—works in the store.
Any fictional Hollywood movie that tried to sell that plot would be laughed off the screen, followed by rank disbelief when Jeff, under a pseudonym, contrives to meet Leigh at a church social. Her divorce has forced Leigh to grow a hard shell, but Jeff wears down her defenses.
As I write this, I don’t believe a word of it. But through the magical alchemy of Tatum and Dunst, you’ll be able to swallow it. I did. And, hell, it happened. There is nothing of the con man in Jeff’s affection for Leigh and her daughters, Dee (Kennedy Moyer) and moody older sister Lindsay (a terrific Lily Collias). And Tatum makes us feel Jeff’s genuine yearning for love and family.
Of course, the house of cards crashes down when the police and Leigh learn the truth. Jeff is back on the run, organizing one more robbery with Steve and his trashy girlfriend Michelle (Juno Temple of “Ted Lasso”). What happens next is predictable and as near as a Google search.
“Roofman” is a good time at the movies. No argument. And yet I can’t help feeling that Cianfrance has lost the psychological depth of his earlier films in his pursuit of a more crowd-pleasing entertainment. Channing and Dunst, as sublime as they are, could have used more time to show the hurt digging at their characters, something that might wipe the smiles off their faces and ours. As the Roofman might say, “I’m so sorry.”