Movie Review: ROOFMAN

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: October 10th, 2025 / 06:55 AM

Rating: R
Stars: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Peter Dinklage, Uzo Aduba, Ben Mendelsohn, Lily Collias, Kennedy Moyer, Molly Price, Emory Cohen
Writers: Derek Cianfrance & Kirt Gunn
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Distributor: Paramount
Release Date: October 10, 2025

Jeffrey Manchester, played here by Channing Tatum, was a prolific robber, active in North Carolina during the 2000s. The press dubbed Manchester “Roofman” for his modus operandi of breaking into fast-food franchise joints – McDonald’s was a favorite target, along with Burger King – before pointing a gun at the morning shift staff and directing them into the freezer so he could clean out the cash register unhindered.

By all accounts, Manchester was very polite by armed robber standards. He made sure that the staff put on their sweaters or coats before he herded them into the freezer and he then called 911 so that the police could come to their rescue.

Jeff served in the U.S. Army and, at least in the film, served as a scout because of his ability to notice and recall minute details. Unfortunately, this did not translate to gainful employment in civilian life.

As depicted in ROOFMAN, Jeff’s primary motive in the thefts, at least at the start, is to provide for his family. His wife Talena (Melonie Diaz), who has left and taken their three young children with her, comes back as soon as Jeff shows he’s able to pay bills, buy toys and even purchase a house.

All is great for about a year, until the police come calling. Jeff is sentenced to forty-five years (apparently one per robbery), but after a few years, he escapes by hiding in the underbelly of a truck.

Jeff calls his old Army buddy Steve (LaKeith Stanfield), now an expert documents forger, for help. Steve knows trouble when he sees it and tells Jeff to hide out for a while before calling back.

So, Jeff takes refuge in the nooks and crannies of a Toys “R” Us, coming out after hours to steal food – mostly candy – and exercise in the aisles. He also keeps tabs on the employees via the closed-circuit monitoring system and takes a shine to single mom Leigh.

Leigh is active in the local church and in charge of their holiday toy drive. Intending to make an anonymous donation of toys (stolen from the store), Jeff gets swept inside the church. Basking in the social welcome, Jeff makes up a new identity, calling himself John Zorn and explaining to anyone who asks that he does government work that he can’t talk about.

“John” and Leigh become involved. Eventually, “John” meets Leigh’s daughters, moody fifteen-year-old Lindsay (Lily Collias) and buoyant preteen Dee (Kennedy Moyer). This gives Jeff the opportunity to do the kind of parenting he wanted but was stopped from doing with his own kids.

Finally, Steve comes back around with the prospect of getting Jeff out of the country, and Jeff has to make a choice.

The script by director Derek Gianfrance & Kirt Gunn puts a sunny, gentle spin on what sounds like it may have been a darker set of events. While the film doesn’t exactly nominate Jeff for sainthood, it plays a little like one of those movies about youngsters who find a friendly stranger in a barn, except it’s from the point of view of the adult.

Whether viewers take to the story or not will likely have a lot to do with how much they wonder what the other version would be. As director, Gianfrance imbues the tale with an aura of scruffy goodwill and easy humor. He captures the era in a nostalgic glow so on target that it’s affectingly bittersweet.

The filmmakers hit the casting jackpot with Tatum (one of the movie’s executive producers), who seemingly effortlessly embodies other characters’ description of Jeff as a brilliant idiot. He convinces us that Jeff can solve some problems with snap judgment, while suffering from a profound inability to comprehend consequences.

Dunst puts a lot of grounding and gravity into Leigh, and Collias and Moyer are excellent as her daughters. Ben Mendelsohn and Uzo Aduba, as the church’s pastor and his wife, are easy to accept as people who offer a safe haven. Peter Dinklage conveys twinkling malice as the Toys “R” Us manager, and Emory Cohen is notable as an employee who has difficulty asserting himself. Molly Price is properly stressed out as the police sergeant trying to catch Jeff.

ROOFMAN puts out a lot of mixed messages. On the one hand, the movie, by way of Leigh, suggests that if Jeff would just be himself and not overdo it with material objects, he’d be in a much better place. On the other hand, it’s clear that material objects sometimes are a solution in themselves. Even when Jeff brokers peace between Leigh and Lindsay, financial expenditure is necessary. These two statements are at odds with each other, and ROOFMAN never reconciles them.

Perhaps a different perspective could find a path for Jeff to apply his unique skill set to making a living without stealing, but this doesn’t occur to the movie or the man. Exploring why Jeff never even contemplates this would give us more insight, but perhaps it wouldn’t make for the smooth entertainment ROOFMAN mostly delivers.

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Article: Movie Review: ROOFMAN

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