Roofman, the acclaimed Channing Tatum drama inspired by a true story that feels stranger, softer and more human than the headlines that once defined it, premieres exclusively on Lionsgate Play on December 19.
The film made its first bow at the Toronto International Film Festival, where audiences rose in warm applause, moved by the quiet emotion it carries beneath its surface. Now, with its India debut on Lionsgate Play, Roofman arrives as a story that lingers in the spaces between who we are and who we hope to become.
Based on a true story, director Derek Cianfrance blends crime drama, dark comedy, and heartfelt moments in a unique tale of escape and redemption.
Roofman Plot
At its heart, Roofman follows Jeffrey Manchester, a former Army Ranger whose carefully planned, non-violent robberies earned him a peculiar kind of infamy. After a daring escape, he slipped into the unnoticed corners of a toy store and built a hidden life in its rafters, watching families move below him with the kind of longing that settles deep and slow. As his double life gets complicated by risky romance and police pursuit, he struggles to balance love, loyalty, and his criminal instincts.
The film traces the days he spent in that secret world, where small routines became anchors and borrowed conversations felt like glimpses of the life he wished he could claim. Channing Tatum brings a quiet tenderness to Manchester, revealing the ache behind his choices. Kirsten Dunst, Juno Temple, LaKeith Stanfield and Peter Dinklage surround him with performances shaped by warmth, suspicion, humour and heartbreak. Under the direction of Derek Cianfrance, the film stays close to the human pulse of the story, allowing its gentlest moments to speak the loudest.
Channing Tatum met real-life Jeffrey Manchester
Channing Tatum spoke directly with the real-life Jeffrey Manchester, the escaped convict and Army veteran he portrays, to forge an authentic emotional connection for the role.
Speaking about his interaction, he said, “I didn’t know what to expect, talking to him [Jeffrey Manchester]. Some days, we talked about him, others we just talked about me. And talking to Jeff was really easy, he kind of takes care of you in the conversations. We’re telling the story about a guy that is a liar, a bit of a con man. And he can’t really get out of that. But he does have parts of his life he wants out there, because he has a lot of regrets for the hurt he’s caused.”
“One of the first things he said to me was, `I should be in here. I deserve to be here.` He knows he’s done things wrong and that he’s responsible for that. When playing a real person, it’s the filmmaker I listen to. I’m just a vessel to help divine whatever the truth the filmmaker is trying to divine. All I can do is be of service to that and let it come through,” he concluded.
