For a story about a man who lived life literally breaking into buildings, Roofman plays things a little too safe.
Roofman is one of those films that reminds you how tricky adapting true stories can be. The premise itself is fascinating: a small-town burglar evades police for years by breaking into fast-food restaurants through their roofs. It’s easy to see why the story caught Hollywood’s eye. But somewhere between the facts and the film’s need for cinematic flair, Roofman settles into something uneven. It’s not a bad movie—there’s plenty here to admire—but by the end, it’s hard not to wish the filmmakers had taken a few more creative risks.
Directed and co-written by Derek Cianfrance, Roofman plays things straight. The tone is grounded, the pacing deliberate, and the story largely faithful to the real-life exploits of Jeffrey Manchester, the North Carolina man whose crime spree and surprising double life made headlines two decades ago. That fidelity to fact lends the film authenticity, but it also boxes it in. Rather than exploring deeper psychological or moral territory, Roofman hits a familiar rhythm: break-in, chase, close call, repeat. What could’ve been an offbeat character study or a darkly comic thriller ends up feeling, at times, like a dramatized Wikipedia entry.
Strong acting anchors the story.
Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures.
What keeps Roofman from falling flat are its performances. The lead, played with charm and quiet intensity by Channing Tatum, brings genuine humanity to the role. He captures the strange duality of a man who’s both cunning and oddly likable, someone you know is in the wrong but can’t help but root for anyway. There’s a spark in Tatum’s portrayal that hints at a more daring version of the film, one that might have leaned harder into absurdity or melancholy.
The supporting cast helps round things out. Kirsten Dunst delivers a grounded, quietly commanding turn as Leigh, the single mother whose cautious empathy toward Jeff blurs the line between compassion and denial. Her scenes with her daughters bring genuine warmth and tension to the film. The family dynamic feels lived-in rather than staged, adding texture and emotional weight. Their interactions with Jeff remind us that beneath the headlines, these were real people navigating impossible choices.
Adding balance is LaKeith Stanfield as Steve, an army veteran and Jeff’s closest friend. He brings sharp comedic timing and a natural sense of realism that punctures the film’s heavier moments without undermining them. His presence gives Roofman an undercurrent of humanity and a reminder that humor and tragedy often coexist, even in the strangest of stories.
Too careful for its own good.
Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures.
The biggest frustration with Roofman is that it’s afraid to bend the truth, even slightly, to tell a sharper story. Real life doesn’t always provide clean narrative arcs, and this film seems almost reluctant to fill in the emotional gaps. The result is a movie that’s interesting in premise but flat in execution. You understand why the filmmakers stuck close to the real events, but sometimes realism isn’t the same as truth — at least not cinematic truth.
A few creative liberties could have elevated it from solid to memorable. Instead of centering the story on the romantic thread between Jeff and Leigh, the film might’ve been stronger if it leaned into the mounting paranoia of Jeff’s double life: the tension of staying hidden, the desperation of planning an escape, the fear of every knock on the door. Even an alternate ending that embraced that chaos over closure could’ve left a deeper mark.
To its credit, Roofman looks great. Cianfrance and cinematographer Andrij Parekh craft a moody visual palette of dimly-lit rooftops, empty parking lots, and late-night spying that perfectly suits the story’s quiet melancholy. The film’s best moments aren’t the robberies but the solitary stretches inside the Toys “R” Us he calls home, as Jeff moves through rows of brightly lit aisles and pristine shelves, scavenging meals and relying on his old military instincts to stay hidden. It’s in these scenes of quiet survival that the film finally feels alive, confident in its own strange rhythm.
The bottom line.
Roofman is a film that almost works. It’s well-acted, competently made, and rooted in a fascinating true story, but it never quite decides what it wants to be. Too grounded to thrill, too restrained to really move you, it lands somewhere in the middle: not a failure, but not the breakout crime drama it could’ve been. You leave respecting the craft but wishing it had aimed higher.
Roofman is now playing in theaters everywhere. Watch the trailer here.
Images courtesy of Paramount Pictures. Read more articles by Alyshia Kelly here.
REVIEW RATING
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Roofman - 6/10
6/10
Alyshia is the Interviews Editor for InBetweenDrafts. A self-proclaimed pop culture enthusiast, she watches B-movies in her spare time and hopes to make one some day. Apart from writing, she is a publicist fully immersed in the world of entertainment.
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