"Roofman" — Read The Screenplay By Derek Cianfrance & Kirt Gunn
A Brilliant Mind. A Terrible Plan. An Inescapable Cost.
Based on a true story, "Roofman" follows Jeffrey Manchester, a gifted observer who discovers he can exploit the routines of everyday America with surgical precision. What begins as clever survival turns into a pattern of choices that slowly dismantle his family, his freedom, and his sense of self.
Told with dark humor and aching intimacy, the screenplay reframes crime not as rebellion, but as misdirected intelligence -- a tragedy built from logic, love, and irreversible decisions.
"Roofman" — Educator Resources & Study Guide
Writing Tragedy Through Intelligence and Choice.
"Roofman" offers a compelling study in character-driven crime storytelling. By centering observation, routine, and emotional motivation, the screenplay demonstrates how intelligence can become a flaw when unmoored from self-awareness.
For writers, it’s a lesson in restraint, voiceover discipline, and building tragedy from believable decisions — proving that the most devastating stories are the ones where every choice makes sense.
Roofman (2025) — Classroom Study
"Roofman" fits alongside films like The Place Beyond the Pines, American Animals, and Michael Clayton -- stories about capable men undone not by chaos, but by clarity. It’s a distinctly modern American crime story, one where intelligence becomes a liability in a world that rewards conformity and patience. For younger writers, it’s a powerful reminder that strong screenplays don’t require escalation -- they require inevitability. Every step Jeffrey takes makes sense. That’s what makes it devastating.
- Writing sympathetic but culpable protagonists.
- Voiceover as unreliable self-mythology.
- Intelligence vs emotional maturity.
- American masculinity and failure.
- Crime stories without moral victory.
- Systems, routines, and institutional blind spots.
- Tragedy built from small, rational choices.
"Roofman" One Sheet & Script Intel
A charismatic criminal, while on the run from the police, hides in a hidden space of a toy store. There, he adopts a new identity and becomes involved with an employee, beginning a relationship as unlikely as it is risky. Paramount Pictures
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