Director: Derek Cianfrance
Starring: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Ben Mendelsohn, Lakeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Peter Dinklage
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 126 mins

Roofman is the new film by Derek Cianfrance, best known for directing Blue Valentine and the excellent The Place Beyond The Pines. His first film since the decidedly average The Light Between Oceans all the way back in 2016, Roofman is a crime comedy about real-life robber Jeffrey Manchester, who hid in a Toys “R” Us after escaping prison. He survived on kids’ snacks and baby food, exercising during the night when the store was closed by riding a bike through the aisles – yes, really! Channing Tatum plays the divorced US Army Veteran turned outrageous robber and the film marks a change of pace for Cianfrance, given his previous films have been very serious.

Roofman is a real romp of a time that deftly balances the sheer absurdity of Manchester’s antics with a minor-key sadness and excellent character development. Channing Tatum brings plenty of charisma as the intelligent robber who has a knack for noticing the smallest details and I found myself really rooting for him with his warm personality. His burgeoning relationship with Kirsten Dunst’s (also excellent) Toys “R” Us employee, Leigh, is particularly well-developed, with well-earned cringeworthy moments as he starts to integrate himself into her dysfunctional household and get himself deeper and deeper into a doomed situation. Peter Dinklage is another highlight as Mitch, the Toys “R” Us shop manager and a stickler for the rules.

The film’s missing some of the grit that Cianfrance is best known fork, the director opting for a fuzzily warm tone instead but I wouldn’t say it’s schmaltzy. While that’s fitting for the film, if I hadn’t have known who was in the director’s chair, I wouldn’t have guessed it was Cianfrance if I was watching this blind. Still, Roofman is an easy film to like with its stranger than fiction story and a selection of compelling performances.