This Channing Tatum movie is crazy. The story it’s based on is even crazier

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A balaclava-clad man is holding up a McDonald’s. He tells the two employees and store manager to get into the walk-in freezer while he carries out the robbery. But, before forcing them in, he insists they grab their coats.

The manager, who didn’t bring one, looks out forlornly. The robber, feeling sorry for the shivering man before him, sighs and gives him his own jacket before locking them in and continuing his criminal escapade.

Think Roofman is too ridiculous to be true? Think again.

This is a scene from writer-director Derek Cianfrance’s latest crime-dramedy Roofman. It’s also inspired by someone’s real life.

The film, starring Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst, tells the story of the real “Roofman”, Jeffrey Manchester, a US Army veteran who became notorious in the late ’90s for breaking into fast-food chains via their roofs. Manchester reportedly broke into about 40 McDonald’s outlets before he was caught in 2000, and copped a 45-year prison sentence.

But then he broke out, and things got a whole lot more absurd.

So, what actually happened to the real “Roofman”, and how closely does the film reflect his story?

Macca’s madness

According to the Los Angeles Times, Manchester – a former California US Army sergeant and divorced father of three – began his crime spree about November 1998.

He targeted establishments such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Toys “R” Us, and the video store chain Blockbuster by carving a hole in the roof and sneaking in. Hence, his moniker “Roofman” or “Rooftop Robber”.

Manchester also became known for the unusually polite way in which he treated those he encountered during his robberies. The Los Angeles Times reported that he would sometimes lock staff in the walk-in freezer, making sure to alert the police later so they would be rescued. Employees also recalled his courteousness, often saying “please”, “thank you” and encouraging them to get their coats before coaxing them into the freezer.

Caught in the act

Manchester was caught and arrested in May 2000 after robbing a McDonald’s in North Carolina, per The Charlotte Observer. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

But after just four years, he broke out.

He escaped from Brown Creek Correctional Institution in June 2004 by reportedly hanging onto the underside of a delivery vehicle. He sought safety and concealment in a Toys “R” Us in Charlotte, where he remained for a few months.

According to TIME, Manchester used baby monitors to track others’ whereabouts during the daytime. The toy store turned out to be an ideal space for a fugitive – he survived on baby food and kept himself fit by exercising on the bikes in-store.

Church, aliases, and pushing his luck

After evading Toys “R” Us employees and the police for months, Manchester began to build confidence – and cabin fever.

Around November 2004, he ventured into the town, even attending Mass at a local church under the alias “John Zorn”. This is where he met single mother Leigh Wainscott (played by Dunst in the film), whom he later began dating. Notably, the film shows the pair meeting at the toy store rather than at church.

Wainscott has since said she had no idea about Manchester’s criminal activity at the time, and he had told her he worked for the government.

In January 2005, Wainscott was questioned by police while at work, per The Charlotte Observer. The officers showed her a photo of a man she knew to be John Zorn; however, they informed her it was, in fact, Manchester – an escaped convict on the “America’s Most Wanted” website.

Once past the shock, Wainscott agreed to help the authorities capture Manchester by setting up a trap for him on her birthday. Since Manchester was going to pick Wainscott up at her home, the police were able to wait for him there. Other officers also tracked his car after Wainscott called him to ask what time he would arrive, trailing him even as he made a quick detour to pick up flowers at a grocery store.

Channing Tatum as Jeffrey Manchester and Kirsten Dunst as Leigh Wainscott in Roofman.

Once he arrived at Wainscott’s home, he was arrested and surrendered to the police “relatively peacefully”, according to local news.

Since then, Manchester has been incarcerated at Central Prison in North Carolina. He’s expected to be released in 2036, at which time he will be 65.

Roofman on the big screen

Cianfrance, who is known for directing deeply immersive films such as Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines, was drawn to Manchester’s “crazy story”, noting how “unbelievable” some of his actions sounded.

To make it as realistic as possible, Cianfrance interviewed several people involved in the case, even giving some of them roles in the film (for example, Wainscott plays a crossing guard and Dunst is interrogated by the police officers who interviewed Wainscott).

Cianfrance also reached out to Manchester in prison. The director estimates that he spoke with him more than 100 times, thus gaining an understanding of Manchester’s motives and mistakes, and turning the film into a comic yet tender examination of misguided materialism.

“Jeff wrote a crazy movie for himself, and he lived it,” Cianfrance says. “What made me ultimately understand what the movie was that Jeff – he was just trying to figure out how to be a dad. He was doing it all for family.”

Tatum also spoke frequently with Manchester and says they bonded by talking about their children and their hopes for the future.

“I got more than I could possibly convey. I just found myself being held almost by him, taken care of,” Tatum says. “I didn’t grow up bad. But I definitely am a couple [of] bad decisions away from hopefully not being in jail for 45 years. But I think we’re all one or two bad decisions away from having a completely different life. Jeff did tell me, ‘I got greedy’.”

With AP

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