Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst Electrify Toronto Film Festival With True Crime Drama ‘Roofman’

Channing Tatum, playing a robber with a serious case of arrested development, may have delivered the most mature performance of his career, at least if the thunderous standing ovation for “Roofman” at its Toronto Film Festival premiere is to be believed.

The film tells the true story of Jeffrey Manchester, the so-called “Rooftop Robber,” who broke into dozens of McDonald’s restaurants, was sentenced to prison for 45 years, escaped, and hid in a Toys “R” Us, all while becoming romantically entwined with one of the store’s employees (Kirsten Dunst). Derek Cianfrance, best known for moody dramas like “Blue Valentine” and “I Know This Much is True,” saw Manchester’s incredible story as a chance to work in a different register.

“I just felt like I needed to find something that kind of reignited my love of movies, and kind of the possibility of movies and what movies could do,” Cianfrance said during a Q&A following the screening on Saturday. “The movies that I loved in like the ’80s and ’90s, just had limitless potential…I heard this story about this guy who robbed all these McDonald’s and put people in the fridge and gave them a jacket… I thought, well, that doesn’t sound so serious, but then I was thinking a lot about like, tragedy and comedy…they’re both sides of the same coin, and that maybe I can make a movie where you flip that coin up in the air and it spins between the two of them.”

Indeed, “Roofman” toggles between showing the joy of Manchester’s heists, as well as the tragic consequences of his criminality, allowing Tatum and Dunst to chart expansive emotional arcs in performances that are sure to be talked about throughout awards season. Though blessed with a genius-level intelligence, Manchester, in the film and in life, cannot stop getting on the wrong side of the law, which only hurts the ones he loves.

“I remember yelling at the actual script,” Tatum said during the Q&A. “I was like, ‘don’t do that. Like, just don’t.'” However, Tatum said he came to the conclusion that Manchester couldn’t stop committing crimes, because he wanted so desperately to provide for his family and the people he cared about. “He loves so big,” Tatum said.

Both Tatum and Cianfrance talked extensively with the real Manchester as they developed and shot the film, though their conversations mostly transpired over 15-minute phone calls that he made from prison (Manchester isn’t eligible for parole until 2036).

“He’s so warm,” Tatum said. “He takes care of you on the phone call…he was my shrink at times.”

Tatum and Cianfrance were joined on stage by Dunst, as well as by LaKeith Stanfield and Juno Temple, who co-star in the film. All three actors praised Cianfrance’s ability to coax naturalistic performances from his cast.

“I don’t like when I see acting,” Dunst said. “I like it to feel like you’re not watching acting. I want to see people, and I think what Derek captures is real people.”

“Roofman” opens in theaters on Oct. 10.