By: Sam Hepburn

“ROOFMAN” is the newest film directed by Derek Cianfrance, starring Channing Tatum and Kristen Dunst. Based on true events.

In this film we follow Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), a professional thief who would sneak through the roofs of establishments to commit his robberies. One thing different about Jeffrey however though, is how polite he is when committing his robberies. Being very calm and nice to the hostages he would take during his crimes.

We soon see Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) be locked in prison after his robbery spree, but Jeffrey doesn’t give up. He would then break out of this prison, using his wits and skills of noticing routines. After his successful break out, he will take refuge in a local Toys R U. where we will hide from the police and find unexpected love with Leigh Wainscott ( Kristen Dunst)

Overall the acting in this film was very well done. Channing Tatum does a great job at portraying this experienced thief, who still really cares about other people deeply, and decided to rob to provide for his three young children. It is very easy to root for him in film and really connect to him throughout the whole film.

 Kristen Dunst also has a great performance. She plays Leigh, a single mother who also deeply cares for others, and struggles with her jerk of a boss, Mitch (Peter Dinklage), not scheduling

her for any shifts. 

Their scenes together also are some of the highlights of the film. The chemistry they have together on screen is undeniable, and feels very natural and real in the film, rather than it just being a forced plot device. 

Justin Streets, long time film fan, and viewer of the movie. “ At first this film went completely under my radar.” Streets said. “So, I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie in theaters.” 

Derek Cianfrance still delivers the same emotion you would find in his other films. He does great at capturing the early 2000s to the screen. The story is also very strong in this film as well, even though it is based on  true events. The story of the movie doesn’t feel like it’s trying to force anything or portray the real life events in a different light.

Overall, this film was a real surprise. The trailer and movie poster make the film seem almost like a comedy, but this film still serves hard emotional scenes. The actors give great performances throughout and the story goes in places you could never expect. This film is a really fun time. Doing an amazing job at really showing the stakes these characters are going through, and the hard decisions they are forced to make. 

Photo by: IMDb : Roofman (2025) – IMDb