Channing Tatum mesmerizes in a strange-as-fantasy story

The life of Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) is so bizarre, you might roll your eyes and think “only in the movies” until you realize it’s based on a true story.

In 1998, Jeffrey is out of the Army and unable to find a decent job to support his family – wife, Talana (Melonie Diaz), daughter Becky (Alissa Marie Pearson) and twin boys.

Channing Tatum in ‘Roofman’ Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures/Youtube

After seeing Becky’s disappointment in her birthday present and talking to his friend and Army sergeant Steve (LaKeith Stanfield), Jeffrey decides to begin a life of crime. Steve reminds Jeffrey how his powers of observation helped him in the army and Jeffrey uses those skills to rob a fast food restaurant by entering through the roof.

Two years and more than 40 robberies later, Jeffrey is a successful thief, providing his family with all kinds of good things and capturing public interest as the “Roofman”.

Jeffery is polite and kind to the men he robs, insisting that they put on their coats before locking them in the meat locker, and even lending his coat to an employee. All good things must come to an end and Jeffrey is arrested at Becky’s birthday party.

After Talana breaks all ties with him and is sentenced to 45 years in prison, Jeffrey again uses his superior powers of observation to escape from prison.

Once outside, Jeffrey breaks into a toy store. He creates a living space for himself at the store, eats candy (which gives him a very high number of cavities!) and dresses up in cartoon character clothes. Steve, who is running a lucrative fake identity racket with his girlfriend Michelle (Juno Temple), tells her to lay low for a while.

Being the smart guy he is, Jeffrey figures out how to turn off the recording on the cameras while being with the toy store employees.

She discovers that the manager, Mitch (Peter Dinklage), is generally mean and refuses to give divorcee Leigh (Kirsten Dunst) some time to spend with her daughters.

A scene from the film Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures/Youtube

When he overhears Leah asking Mitch to donate toys for her church’s toy collection drive, Jeffrey decides to “donate” the toys (he steals them from the toy store). At the church, Pastor Ron (Ben Mendelsohn) and his wife Eileen (Uzo Aduba) are welcoming and before he knows it, Jeffrey has said yes to a solo gig.

As Jeffrey’s relationship with Leah grows, he becomes entangled in more lies. Although Steve is ready to get Jeffrey a new identity, Jeffrey is unsure if he can let go of Leigh and her daughters – Lindsay (Lily Colias) and Dee (Kennedy Moyer).

Derek Cianfrance, who directed the incredibly serious miniseries, I know it’s trueHas gone for lighter tones with rooferWhich he wrote with Kirt Gunn. Many people associated with Jeffrey’s life have made cameos in the film.

Tatum is believable as the smart but clueless Jeffrey. It’s so cute to bring out your inner child in a toy store. Tatum and Dunst’s chemistry is believable. The ever-reliable Dinklage tries to do everything he can with his underdog character. The benefits of shooting on 35mm film roofer A nostalgic look back at the late ’90s and early 2000s. Although the pace occasionally falters—particularly in the delayed second half—roofer Yet it remains a sweet, funny, heartwarming film.

Roofman is currently streaming on Lionsgate Play