Plot
In 1998, Jeffrey Manchester is a divorced U.S. Army veteran living in North Carolina. Struggling to provide for his three young children, Jeffrey is reminded by Steve, his friend and fellow member of the 82nd Airborne Division, of his powerful skills of observation. Jeffrey uses his knack for noticing and exploiting routines to rob a McDonald's, breaking in through the roof at night. Surprising the morning shift, Jeffrey orders the employees into the walk-in freezer but treats them kindly, even giving the manager his own coat before escaping with the contents of the safe.
Over the next two years, Jeffrey carries out over 40 robberies with the same strategy, capturing the attention of the authorities and the media as the mysterious "Roofman". Arrested at his daughter's birthday party after attempting to flee, he is sentenced to 45 years in prison while his ex-wife Talana ends his contact with their children.
In 2004, he works in the prison shop using his attention to routines to escape by hiding underneath a delivery truck. Hitchhiking to Charlotte in makeshift street clothes, he is unable to reach his children with a manhunt underway. He calls Steve, who warns him to lie low, and is forced to hide in the bathroom ceiling at a Toys "R" Us.
Venturing into the employee area once the store closes for the night, Jeffrey finds the security system manual and stops the cameras from recording. He furnishes a hiding place in a hollow wall behind a bicycle display, concealing himself during the day and roaming the empty store at night. Helping himself to clothes from the donation bin and other merchandise, he survives on Peanut M&M's and installs baby monitors to track the store's staff. When Mitch, the store's manager, is unwilling to accommodate his employee Leigh's schedule as a single mother, Jeffrey accesses Mitch's computer to change Leigh's shifts himself.
Stealing toys to donate to the toy drive Leigh has organized at her church, Jeffrey claims to be a visiting New Yorker named John Zorn and is introduced to Leigh. He pawns stolen video games to pay for dental work after living on a candy diet, and evades questions at a church singles event by telling Leigh and the others that he is an undercover government agent. Leigh asks "John" on a date, and they begin a relationship. Missing his own children, Jeffrey makes an effort to bond with Leigh's daughters Lindsay and Dee, but is unable to persuade Leigh to start a new life together elsewhere.
While washing himself at the store, a naked Jeffrey is interrupted by Mitch and retreats to his hideout, leaving police to believe a homeless man snuck in and fled. After Lindsay lashes out at her mother, Jeffrey buys a used car to teach her to drive and takes the family on a reckless test drive. Steve returns after months overseas, and agrees to help Jeffrey escape the country under a new identity for $50,000. Desperate, Jeffrey botches a break-in at the pawn shop to steal a gun.
Adjusting Leigh's schedule to keep her away, Jeffrey holds the Toys "R" Us staff at gunpoint and pistol-whips an armored car guard, but Leigh arrives while he is calling for an ambulance. She recognizes the masked Jeffrey, who flees with the store's cash before the police arrive, discovering his hideout. Jeffrey pays Steve for his fake documents but realizes he needs to cover his tracks and burns down his dentist's office, accordingly. Jeffrey leaves for the airport, but receives a call from Leigh. Unwilling to abandon her, he arrives at her apartment, but it turns out to be a trap by the police after Leigh gave him up. He is taken into custody and receives an additional 40-year sentence.
Leigh visits Jeffrey and they forgive each other, and he reconnects with his own daughter as he accepts life behind bars. A postscript reveals that Leigh remarried, but visited Jeffrey again for the first time in decades. While Jeffrey made two more escape attempts, he is eligible for parole in 2036 and has no desire to escape again.
Production
The project was announced in February 2024 with Derek Cianfrance as director from a script he wrote with Kirt Gunn. The screenplay was based on an earlier script by David Stephens and Peter Petrucci. [8] Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker produced through the Limelight production company alongside Jamie Patricof and Lynette Howell Taylor. Channing Tatum was to star. [9] Ben Mendelsohn and Kirsten Dunst joined the cast in September 2024. [10] [11] In October 2024, Miramax acquired distribution rights to the project, with parent Paramount Pictures distributing on its behalf in the United States and United Kingdom with financing handled by Aperture Media Partners and FilmNation Entertainment handling international sales. [2] Peter Dinklage, Uzo Aduba, Juno Temple, LaKeith Stanfield, Molly Price, Melonie Diaz, Lily Collias, Emory Cohen, and Tony Revolori joined the cast. [12] [13]
Principal photography began on October 24, 2024, in Gastonia, North Carolina. [14] Filming wrapped on December 12, 2024. [15] Cinematographer Andrij Parekh shot the film on 35mm, marking his second collaboration with Cianfrance. [16] Some of the filming locations include Freedom Park, Mecklenburg County Jail North, and the Gaston County Courthouse. Jim Helton edited the film. [17]
