Roofman, directed by Derek Cianfrance, is in cinemas now.
Take a true story of criminal commitment, cast a bunch of film stars as adorable misfits, and add a dash of sympathy for the human condition. The delicious result is this heartwarming, humorous and hugely entertaining crime comedy – the tale of a loser ex-con who just wants to provide for his loved ones.
Channing Tatum is terrific as Jeffrey Manchester, a North Carolina dad sent to prison for a spate of armed robberies in which he was so considerate he ensured his victims had their coats on before locking them in the freezers of their fast-food joints.
After an ingenious jailbreak, Jeffrey holes up in a Toys’R’Us store to lie low for a while, where he sets up a hidden camp, nipping into the shop during the night to play with toys and steal Peanut M&Ms.
The US Army vet’s voiceover explains he spent 30 days in the jungle living on rainwater and grubs, as he waits for help from his criminally minded ex-army buddy (a fantastic LaKeith Stanfield).
Tatum is the perfect linchpin for this morally dubious story in which we are invited to sympathise with the crook. It helps that the end credit interviews indicate the real-life Manchester was regarded as an all-round lovely guy.
As Tatum charms a group of single women from the local church and inveigles his way into the heart of Kirsten Dunst’s single mom, Jeffrey doesn’t feel like your Netflix-doco swindler but a truly nice guy who deserves a second chance.
Director Derek Cianfrance has a track record of making audiences fall for his tortured souls, from Ryan Gosling’s doomed lover in Blue Valentine and stunt-driving thief in The Place Beyond the Pines to Mark Ruffalo’s flawed twins in I Know This Much is True.
His cast of Tatum, Dunst and a hilarious Peter Dinklage bring a lightness to a tale that disguises an underlying heaviness.
Cianfrance’s other talent is in never mocking his Southern, suburban blue-collar characters. The likes of CCH Pounder and Ben Mendelsohn’s warm-hearted pastor couple are played as kindly Samaritans not gullible fools.
With its enormously likeable cast and buoyant narrative, Roofman is a super-fun ride in which you find yourself rooting for the guy.
Rating out of five: ★★★★★
