Roofman movie review:

Why do we secretly want con artists in films to get away with their crimes? Maybe there is a part of us that wants to escape from our mundane, sometimes boring, existence. The part that always seeks some adventure if our circumstances allow… Or maybe they are just like us — relatable, flawed, and never quite able to mend their ways despite desperately wanting to do so. Much like Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can, Derek Cianfrance's Roofman also taps into this innate emotion of ours as it deftly transforms the true story of an erstwhile military man-turned-thief into an adventurous ride. The film walks the tricky tightrope of being as loyal to its subject matter as possible while dramatising it and entertaining us, without glamourising the world of crime and without reducing the deeds of its good-hearted thief into some petty antics. You can see the effort by the makers to pull off this balancing act right from the first scene, where Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) breaks into a McDonald's store and takes all the money from the cash register, while making it a point not to harm its staff. As he runs away, we get a voiceover providing the reason for Manchester being who he is. “I cannot blame my parents,” he says, before adding, “I just made some bad choices.” The film does not offer any backstory justifying his deeds. He is who he is, and the film celebrates him unapologetically.

Roofman's story of a conman evading cops for months on end by hiding at a toy store is at once whimsical and unbelievable. How can a man like Manchester, whose face is often on primetime news, manage to get out and about in broad daylight, integrate himself into the local community and find love with an alias, all without blowing his cover or getting caught? The film does not bother to explain Manchester's modus operandi too much. As with virtually any film based on real events, Roofman also makes its story more cinematic with fictional changes to heighten the elements of romance and drama. For example, the real woman whom he befriends and romances, Leigh Wainscott, did not work at the same toy store. She is just someone he met at the local church before falling in love. In Roofman, Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst) works at the store, and Manchester only meets her at the church. Thankfully, none of these adjustments take away from the film's true intention, which is to entertain the audience.

Director: Derek Cianfrance

Cast: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Channing Tatum

Streamer: Lionsgate Play

The film explores themes of second chances and redemption. There is an aspect of Manchester that wants to give back to the community and become the ideal man that society expects someone like him to be. It is just that he cannot resist himself from committing the odd misdemeanour here and an act of crime there, even as he indulges in his adventurous self now and then. It is easy to see whom the film is siding with, and thankfully this bias towards Manchester never becomes problematic thanks to Tatum’s charming and disarming performance in the lead role. Tatum channels Manchester’s goofy innocence, desire for a normal family life, and penchant for crime, without reverting to stereotypes. He plays Manchester like the everyman hero who unfortunately goes off on a path of crime. The actor is particularly good in those moments where Manchester is thinking about whether to open up about his true self to the ones he loves and cares about. His eyes speak a thousand words! On the other hand, Dunst portrays the vulnerability of a single mother who falls for the allure of an adventurist and who has a strong sense of altruism. You can tell that Wainscott loves Manchester from the way she looks at him and that he loves her the same. At the same time, it is evident that her intentions concerning Manchester come only from a place of wanting to guide him on the path of righteousness. The portions involving Wainscott attending church are hence important to show that she is a spiritual and religious woman and that her altruism is not accidental.

This is why it is somewhat disappointing to see the film falling into the genre trappings of giving us mini-lectures on why Wainscott wants to keep Manchester around in her life. She loves Manchester for the man he is. We get it. This is to say, Roofman does not reinvent the formula of films with a con artist as the hero. The final portions of the film are rather predictable. Nevertheless, you want to give these minor quibbles a pass, just like how we keep wanting to root for our benevolent, albeit flawed, hero even as he stays incorrigible.