‘Roofman’ review: Channing Tatum charms in real-life crime caper from Derek Cianfrance

Dir: Derek Cianfrance. US. 126mins

Telling the true story of a prolific thief who escaped from jail and went into hiding, solely to fall in love with a single mom who had no concept about his true id, Roofman sidesteps this story’s most doubtlessly fascinating components to promote a extra typical narrative. Channing Tatum offers a susceptible efficiency as Jeffrey Manchester, a kindly prison obsessive about offering for these he loves even when it’s by illegal means. His rapport with co-star Kirsten Dunst is commonly fairly beautiful, however Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance doesn’t apply his common penetrating eye to this peculiar criminal.

Lacks the inquisitiveness and candour of Cianfrance’s earlier work

After its Toronto premiere and London berth, Roofman opens October 10 within the US and October 17 within the UK. Tatum’s likeable flip ought to attraction his followers, and the movie’s crowd-pleasing vibe may assist it join with mainstream audiences. That stated, Cianfrance’s offbeat crime-dramedy could also be solely a modest theatrical prospect, with higher returns presumably coming by streaming.

In 2004, Jeffrey (Tatum) will get sentenced to 45 years for a string of robberies he executed utilising the identical uncommon approach: he would break into fast-food eating places by getting into by the roof late at evening, look forward to the workers to reach and rob the place. Devastated about being locked up and never capable of see his kids, he breaks out of jail, barricading himself contained in the partitions of a Toys ‘R’ Us retailer in order that nobody can discover him. He plans to put low for about six months till the cops and the press have moved on, however then he meets Leigh (Dunst), a spiritual, divorced mom, and introduces himself underneath the pretend identify of John Zorn.

Cianfrance’s earlier options Blue Valentine and The Place Past The Pines examined marginalised people from a stark however not unsympathetic perspective. Roofman represents one thing of a break from that grittier method, though right here too the director is attuned to how working-class folks wrestle to seek out contentment amidst the pressures of mounting payments. On this regard, Jeffrey is a gentler, much less tormented model of the everyday Cianfrance protagonist. A army veteran who stumbled into crime principally as a result of he couldn’t consider a greater method to maintain his youngsters, Tatum’s divorced father of three is a candy particular person who by no means desires anybody to get damage throughout his burglaries. He could also be a thief, however he’s not malicious — principally, he’s simply rudderless.

Within the Magic Mike and 21 Bounce Avenue franchises, Tatum has excelled at portraying sympathetic on a regular basis lunks. This modification-of-pace dramatic position leaves room for comedic set items, however the actor performs Jeffrey as an interesting screwup who has limitless love for his kids after which, ultimately, Leigh and her youngsters. However there’s one thing lacking behind the character’s affable smile, suggesting a person who’s by no means discovered his place on the earth. (Even Jeffrey’s voiceover narration comes throughout as noticeably noncommittal, nearly as if he’s a passive observer to the important thing moments in his life.) Tatum zeroes in on the person’s inarticulated disappointment to touching impact.

When Leigh enters the image, Roofman turns from a personality research right into a tentative love story as Jeffrey discovers, to his shock, how simple it’s to develop into “John,” who Jeffrey decides has a top-secret job with authorities intelligence. Jeffrey and Leigh’s relationship bears all of the hallmarks of people that have been burned by romance earlier than, and the 2 leads convey a pure, grown-up chemistry.

However what finally hinders the movie is Cianfrance and Tatum’s wobbly conception of Jeffrey. Roofman has faint notions about how this thief represents bigger concepts about loneliness, capitalism and consumerism, however these themes are pushed apart in an effort to emphasise a blandly affectionate angle towards Jeffrey. Cianfrance has typically prized uncooked emotion however, whereas cinematographer Andrij Parekh’s intimate lensing maintains the director’s desire for up-close drama, Roofman lacks the inquisitiveness and candour of his earlier work. The movie tries so onerous to color Jeffrey as an endearingly flawed curiosity that he lacks the tough edges or thriller that will make such an individual compelling.