I was completely captivated by this film – far more than I expected to be. Judging by the trailer, ‘Roofman’ looked like it might be a misfire, but it turns out to be one of the most unexpectedly charming and humane stories of the year.

Based on an extraordinary true story, the film follows Jeffrey Manchester, a man who breaks into a McDonald’s through the roof, politely ushers the staff into the fridge (even lending them his own coat), and proceeds to rob the place with disarming good manners. Played with real depth and tenderness by Channing Tatum, Manchester is both a convicted felon and an oddly endearing figure – a man with a big heart who keeps making terrible choices.

After escaping prison, he hides out for months inside a branch of Toys “R” Us, disabling security cameras and surviving on peanut M&Ms. It’s bizarre, funny, and oddly touching. What begins as a story of criminal ingenuity becomes one about redemption and the hunger for human connection.

While in hiding, Manchester meets and falls for a divorced single mother, played beautifully by Kirsten Dunst, who works at the store. Their relationship – tender, hesitant, and built on half-truths – gives the film its emotional core. There’s a heartbreaking scene where she breaks down in tears, mascara running down her face, and it’s a reminder that this isn’t just a quirky crime comedy – it’s a film about loneliness and the longing to belong.

Tatum is superb here. His Manchester is resourceful – a former soldier and escape artist – but also naïve, impulsive, and hopelessly romantic. As one cop describes him, he’s “a genius and an idiot at the same time”, and that contradiction defines both the man and the movie.

What’s remarkable is how ‘Roofman’ transforms what could have been a standard prison-break thriller into something tender, offbeat, and surprisingly emotional. Imagine ‘The Fugitive’ rewritten as a love story – part crime caper, part domestic melodrama.

It’s a film that defies genre, mixing tension with warmth, absurdity with compassion. ‘Roofman’ feels like something from another era – a throwback to when crime movies could still have a heart.