Roofman (2025) (4K Ultra HD Review)
DIRECTED BY: Derek Cianfrance
STARRING: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Peter Dinklage
RATED: R/Region: O/2:39/2160P/NUMBER OF DISCS 2
AVAILABLE FROM Paramount Pictures
Roofman is the kind of movie that sounds fake even after you’re told it’s based on true events. A real guy. Real crimes. Real rooftops. And somehow, Derek Cianfrance looked at this story and said, “Yes—this is my gritty, emotionally sincere masterpiece,” then cast Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst just to really flex.
Let’s start with the premise: a man commits crimes by going through roofs. That’s it. That’s the hook. If this were pitched wrong, it would’ve been a two-minute segment on a true-crime podcast called ‘Florida Man Energy.’ Instead, Cianfrance treats it with the same dead-serious intensity he usually reserves for broken souls, doomed relationships, and people who clearly make bad life choices but feel very deeply about them. Shockingly, it works.
Channing Tatum is way better here than he has any business being. This is not “cool movie star” Tatum; this is “sad, sweaty, slightly unhinged guy who knows way too much about roof access” Tatum. He brings a quiet desperation to the role that makes you root for him even while wondering why this man refuses to use doors like the rest of society. It’s one of his most grounded, human performances—yes, even while crawling around above ceiling tiles.
Kirsten Dunst, meanwhile, continues her streak of showing up and effortlessly out-acting entire casts. She gives the film its emotional gravity, grounding all the ladder-based nonsense with actual feelings and lived-in realism. Every time she’s on screen, the movie snaps into focus, like it suddenly remembers it’s an adult drama and not an elaborate Home Depot training video.
Cianfrance directs the hell out of this thing. He shoots rooftops like emotional battlegrounds, turning shingles and night skies into symbols of isolation, obsession, and the crushing weight of bad decisions. The film moves at a deliberate pace, but that’s part of the charm—it wants you to sit with the absurdity, not rush past it. This is a movie that sincerely asks, “What if your emotional refuge…was a roof?”
Is it self-serious? Absolutely. Does it sometimes feel like it’s one moody piano score away from parody? Maybe. But Roofman commits so hard to its tone that it steamrolls skepticism into admiration. You stop laughing at the idea and start nodding along like, “Yes…yes, of course this is tragic.”
In the end, Roofman is far better than it has any right to be. It’s a true-crime drama about a man who breaks into places through the ceiling, directed like a prestige indie, and somehow anchored by genuinely strong performances. You’ll come for the sheer disbelief that this is real, and stay because the movie refuses to treat its ridiculous premise like a joke.
It’s emotional. It’s intense. It’s surprisingly moving. And it will absolutely make you look at every roof you pass and think, “Yeah…someone’s definitely been up there.”
Extras
- Based on Actual Events and Terrible Decisions (1080p, 13:49): Looking at the film’s real life inspirations, the film’s tone, project origins, connecting with the real individuals from the story, casting and performances, and more.
- Chasing the Ghosts: The Director’s Method (1080p, 11:36): Exploring Director Derek Cianfrance’s work on the film.
- A Good Place to Hide (1080p, 9:22): A closer look at the abandoned Toys R Us store used in the film and rebuilding it practically from scratch.
- Driving Lesson (1080p, 2:59): A conversation about making the used car sequence.
- Choir Practice (1080p, 1:20): A look into rehearsals for the church choir scenes.
- Deleted and Alternate Scenes (1080p, 8:27 total runtime): Included are Duane Interview (Deleted), Long Timers and Lifers (Deleted), Jeff Puts on His Costume (Deleted), Jump (Deleted), Punch the Turkey (Deleted), John Agrees to Cut Dee’s Bangs (Deleted), and Leigh Calls John (Alternate).
