Movie: Roofman (2025)
Review Type: SPOILER FREE
Review by: Kirk Dulin

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FUN MOVIE FACTS:

-ROOFMAN is based on a very true story
-Shot on 35mm film
-Several people from the real events appear in the film
-This marks the fourth time Channing Tatum has displayed his butt in a feature film (do I have your attention now?)

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BEHIND THE SCENES (of the podcast): 

I wasn’t supposed to be writing this movie review at 11pm on a Wednesday. My recent schedule has restricted my time to work (at Job #1), then work (at Job #2), then watch 30 minutes of a movie, before passing out on the couch. Rinse. Repeat. Because of my currently chaotic life, I was supposed to sit this one out and pass it to the team (you should go check out that podcast and video ASAP, here on our site).

When I left the theatre for the early screening of Roofman, I intended to drive home, search for Where the Heart Is (2000) on  streaming, and drift off to sleep while Natalie Portman is still establishing residency in her local WalMart (it’s only on VOD at the moment, btw).

Sometimes, when we see a movie, there is an itch that must be scratched before we can move forward. This movie arrested both my expectations and emotions, and I implore you to find a way to see this movie as soon as possible.

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Why Should You See Roofman?

First, let’s roleplay. Stay with me.

Think of yourself as the main character of your own movie (who else would you play, right?). You have a set of needs and wants, and a clear first person POV 24/7, 365 days a year. In your story, you create goals based on your experiences and circumstances as well as your successes and failures. 

Now that you’ve slipped into this role – as yourself, playing yourself – I need you to acknowledge and accept TWO truths to your life…er, character:

1. You must accept that you are NEVER going to be the bad guy in your own movie.
2. You must accept that you WILL BE the bad guy to someone else. 

Now that you accept these truths, try to answer these questions:

1. Will you hold yourself accountable and accept the consequences of your actions?
2. Despite your imperfections, are you worthy of happiness? Are you worthy of love?

Movies can creatively stir and unearth emotions in ourselves  – like joy, sadness, fear, anger – in order to self-evaluate our virtues in life – like honesty, self-control, compassion. 

In this movie, honesty is in the prominent reflection that the characters (and ourselves) are forced to confront. 

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Unprecedented Acting Performances

An actor cannot succeed without a properly written character. A film cannot succeed without a properly casted actor. Fortunately, every single role in this movie was perfectly cast and expertly acted. 

Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street, Magic Mike) has never been more charming, and more importantly – he’s never been more focused. Tatum takes on the role of Jeffery Manchester (“my name’s Jeff”), based on the real life criminal who gained entry to fast food restaurants from their rooftops, descend into the building, and kindly rob the employees without issue. Besides Foxcatcher (2014) and Blink Twice (2024), this is easily his best performance to date. Tatum lost a lot of weight, and a lot of ego to slip into this role. As a trained actor myself, my best movie experiences come when I witness actors develop unique twitches, mannerisms, and vocal inflections that compliment the script. Tatum imprinted his natural likable self onto this real life criminal. I sometimes comment on actors putting on ”full blown acting gymnastics”. This is because of their body physicality, their mental state, AND down to small, calculated tics of their face. The focus on their internal turmoil and projected expression is masterful. Bravo, Channing Tatum!

Before today, I never thought that I would ever utter the following words, but now I can confidently say it without question: Future Oscar Nominee Channing Tatum. 

Consistently elevating Tatum for much of the movie is Kirsten Dunst, executing one of the most jaw dropping real life personas ever put to film. Everyone in the audience KNOWS THIS PERSON IN THEIR REAL LIFE.

Dunst plays Leigh, a recently divorced mother of two, down on her luck, but sincerely hopeful that the next phase of her life will be positive and meaningful through her faith in God. Had you told me in the early 2000s or 90s that Kirsten Dunst was a shapeshifter… I would’ve shrugged my shoulders, and hit replay on Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), Bring It On (2000), and Spider-Man (2002). She was always wonderful, but adult Kirsten Dunst has seen some stuff, and her performances in Civil War (2024) and The Power of the Dog (2021), AND now Roofman (2025) have etched in stone that she is one of the greatest actors of her generation. 


And how about that ensemble?

LaKeith Stanfield, Peter Dinklage, Ben Mendelsohn, Uzo Aduba, Juno Temple – THE LIST IS CRAZY LONG.

I could talk endlessly about the cohesive unit that the ensemble became in this movie. When you cannot spot an out of step performance, all of the accolades push to the director, to the casting team, and to the editors.

Yes, the actors must diligently complete their work, complete their research on the characters, study the script, create a backstory, create their “moment before” that is actionable and relevant; but without key direction from the top, one cannot see what the other hand is doing. I love seeing every actor succeed.

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The Trojan Horse

At the top of the film, we are introduced to Tatum’s character from a distance, followed by what you see in the trailer: Tatum kindly robbing a McDonald’s. Right before he reveals himself to the unsuspecting staff, there is a lighting moment that had me perplexed, uneasy, and worried for the movie. I later heard other audience members express a similar echoed concern about “the beginning of the movie was worrisome.” 

Instead, I had to ask myself “why is the director intentionally doing this?” It wasn’t answered until the movie wrapped. In a movie about honesty, what is the best way to bring that honesty out in someone or some people? LIGHT. I was worried about the lighting, people. AND THE DIRECTOR WAS PLAYING WITH THE (say it with me) LIGHTING!

The Trojan Horse of this film is how the marketing team wrapped this up into a simple comedy that you’ve seen Channing Tatum excel in time and time again. This film offers so much more than an escape from reality. In fact, it does the opposite; the story invites you COMFORTABLY into a very real situation to remind you that despite life’s complicated choices, despite our efforts in maintaining the status quo, despite our yearning to think of ourselves as the hero, WE DO NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS. And despite not having those answers, life goes on…so what kind of life are we going to build? And what kind of people are we going to seek and invite into it?

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Last Looks and Movie Score

I firmly believe that we are all one decision away from absolutely wrecking our life. We’re also one decision away from the life of our dreams. For Jeffrey Manchester, it just so happened that both of those choices were wrapped in one decision.

Tatum’s real life character is a mostly mild-mannered man with a conscious moral understanding of right and wrong. His temptation to please others, though, outweighs his ability to stay on the straight and narrow path. His morality crisis becomes our own as the audience grapples with labeling the hero and the villain of his story. The real beauty of this film is that because it has so many moral questions, it’s impossible to articulate every shade of emotion into a single review. You can’t quite understand all of it because it’s not your story. You can’t quite cheer from the sidelines because of your own moral standards. But what you can do is hope. And regardless of the choices that this character makes or that you make in your own life, there will always be a home for you somewhere.

Final Score: 9.5/10 kernels

Review by: Kirk Dulin

Film Production Notes: