Writer-director Derek Cianfrance delivers a crowd-pleasing film based on a stranger-than-fiction tale about a career criminal in North Carolina.

Roofman tells the true story of Jeffrey Manchester (brilliantly portrayed by Channing Tatum), a U.S. Army veteran struggling to provide for his family. After disappointing his daughter at her birthday party and receiving little support from his ex-wife (Melonie Diaz) and best friend (LaKeith Stanfield), Jeffrey resorts to robbing McDonald’s restaurants to fix his financial troubles.

With a sharp eye for detail and strategy, Jeffrey notices that all McDonald’s restaurants share a common vulnerability in their roofs. He cuts through it, drops in, waits for the manager to show up in the morning, and politely requests the safe’s contents. He repeats this 45 times over the course of two years before being caught.

Sentenced to 45 years, Jeffrey seems to adapt to prison but eventually plots his escape. While on the run, he hides in a Toys ‘R Us store with lax security, quickly finding blind spots and disabling cameras. After hours, he explores the store and snacks on peanut M&M’s. Bored and curious about the staff, he installs baby monitors and cameras to spy on them. He observes the bullying tactics of the store manager (Peter Dinklage) and the calm, helpful presence of single mom Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst).

A chance encounter with Leigh allows Jeffrey to insinuate himself into her life. Smitten, Leigh welcomes him into her home and social circle. Their bond grows as Jeffrey takes an interest in her children’s happiness. Despite his sincere intentions, Jeffrey remains a con man, plagued by guilt but never revealing the truth about his criminal past.

During the six months that Jeffrey lives in the toy store, he attends church, dates Leigh, buys a car and extravagant gifts, gets dental work done, and pawns console games for cash while his face is plastered across the evening news. This may sound improbable, but Cianfrance meticulously researched and verified each detail, conducting over a hundred interviews with Jeffrey Manchester at Central Prison in Raleigh.

Caught up in the romantic storyline, I was hoping—against all odds—that Leah and Jeffrey would somehow make it work, that their love would transcend his crimes. But as the story unfolded, each of Jeffrey’s self-destructive choices felt like another stone laid on the path to his undoing. The final betrayal only sealed what had been inevitable all along.

Highly recommended!