It’s something of a surprise that Roofman has done the festival circuit. It’s the kind of comfortable movie that Hollywood used to churn out by the dozen: casually dripping with stars, a plot that handles serious issues with a light touch, product placement that combines the American fervours for nostalgia and consumerism without making a big deal of either, and an ending which utilises some of the real news footage which inspired this story. But Hollywood doesn’t really make this kind of movie anymore, which makes Roofman a contender for the festival circuit as well as the multiplex (it’s playing at the London Film Festival the same week it opens wide in the UK). Anyone who thinks about modern masculinity has been waiting for this for a while.
This is because Roofman stars Channing Tatum, a specialist in modern masculinity. His ease with himself and his gift for casually fluid and expressive movement has enabled him to make a career showing how that body struggles to move through the world. He has never gotten his dues because nobody makes Gene Kelly/Fred Astaire dance spectaculars anymore, and also nobody thinks comedy should get awards. (It’s left to critics to say that the belly laughs from the scene in 22 Jump Street where Mr. Tatum realises just what Jonah Hill has done to Ice Cube’s daughter are just as valuable as any statuette.) But the through line for Mr. Tatum’s career has been an examination of what it means to be a man who makes a living through his body – whether that’s by fighting, stripping, thieving or showing up in Deadpool & Wolverine. He is the kind of guy whose intelligence is best expressed physically, which is not to diminish the rest of his smarts. Mr. Tatum is just so very good at seeming relaxed with himself, and capable of extending that sense of ease to everyone around him. But he uses this pretty rare skill very lightly, and instead of getting to dance his way through several scripts a year (or even do the standing backflip that he did in Foxcatcher) he tends to play military types who are no longer officially at war.
Jeffrey Manchester (Mr. Tatum)’s war is the kind that comes from being in a fading marriage. Obviously the best way to save it is to rob multiple McDonald’s to buy your wife a house and throw your daughter a fancy birthday party. Once imprisoned for decades for those crimes, obviously the only thing to do is to break out. So Jeffrey does. This kind of thing is very easy for him. The aftermath not so much. He gets in contact with an old army pal named Steve (LaKeith Stanfield, always a pleasure) who now procures documents for people in trouble. Only Steve thinks Jeff is too hot for him to handle, tells him to lie low instead of run, and eventually to wait six months before his help can be provided. Jeff spots a Toys “R” Us and makes his way into the ceiling before everyone leaves for the night. He figures out how to disable the security cameras and the alarmed doors, meaning he can roam freely and help himself to the candy, the only food available. He finds himself an empty space behind the bike displays, makes himself a Spiderman bed and tapes up a calendar to count down the days. To pass the time he also sets up some baby monitors in the employee areas to spy on unpleasant manager Mitch (Peter Dinklage, another constant pleasure), the awkward Otis (Emory Cohen, more on whom later) and the lovely Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a recently divorced mom who is very active in her church.
Jeff finds himself so taken with Leigh he steals some toys to donate to her church’s toy drive, and immediately finds himself swept into meeting the pastor (Ben Mendelsohn) and his wife (Uzo Aduba). Jeff tells everyone his name is John and that he has a classified government job. He is also so charming and kind to the divorced moms of the congregation that once Leigh realises he isn’t actually gay she has to ask him out immediately before one of the others pounces. And as Jeff/John starts to ingratiate himself with Leigh’s daughters (that is to say, by stealing stuff from Toys “R” Us for them, or by buying things with money earned from pawning stuff stolen from Toys “R” Us) it starts to become obvious what this movie really is.
Director Derek Cianfrance’s movies are all about fatherhood, but what’s on display here is the fantasy of fatherhood. Leigh’s daughters are 11 and 16, so well out of the bottles-diapers-tantrums phase of childhood, old enough to have some responsibility for themselves, but still young enough that bribes for affection absolutely do work. And all Jeff/John has to do is express some interest in them to make sure Leigh knows that he’s serious about a relationship with her, and her loneliness will do the rest. Ms. Dunst does warm and subtle work here as a woman who is happy with her choices and the limits they have put on her life, surprised that someone this handsome so perfectly lines up with her needs, and is therefore willing to overlook quite a bit in order to enjoy this good luck. The fact it’s all built on a lie and stolen money is – well, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. And for the most part, Jeff/John is a stand-up guy. Well, a likeable guy. Well, a guy who’s thrilled he is getting a second chance to have a family. But that’s a family completely on his own terms, unlike the one his ex-wife (Melonie Diaz) has cut off his access to. The more you think about this, the more awful it gets.
And because Mr. Tatum is so gee-whiz likeable, the full horror of this mindset takes a very long time to sink in. Showing the emptiness of this style of masculinity, with charm as the sugar to send the medicine down, is a major achievement. Cinematographer Andrij Parekh (who also worked with Mr. Cianfrance on Blue Valentine) films everything in a brightly straightforward style that emphasises good cheer and fellowship. The light-hearted score, which leans hard on in-store music for laughs, makes Roofman feel much more jolly than it really is. A lot of people who see this might need some time to reflect before understanding just how vicious its depiction of masculinity is, and that’s a knockout blow delivered so gently you don’t even notice. Roofman really will stay with you long after it is over.
One final thing: what happened to Mr. Cohen’s career? He made such an enormous, charming impression as the male lead in Brooklyn that it’s hard to understand why he never really built on that. Lately all he’s had is tiny parts in big movies or lead roles in very small movies. How can we get him another chance to display his knack for inarticulate yearning? That’s another masculine gift that’s not expressed frequently enough onscreen, either.
Roofman recently played at the London Film Festival. It is now in theaters.
Learn more about the film, including how to watch at the official website.
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