Derek Cianfrance’s Midlife Crisis

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I’ve always been fascinated by Derek Cianfrance’s films. He doesn’t shy away from the really tough stuff – his characters go through devastating experiences, like broken relationships, loss, and unimaginable tragedies. It’s true his stories are fundamentally about love, but be warned – they’re incredibly emotionally powerful and will definitely leave you feeling a little heartbroken.

Derek Cianfrance’s films, like *Blue Valentine*, *The Place Beyond the Pines*, *The Light Between Oceans*, and *Sound of Metal*, as well as his HBO series *I Know This Much Is True*, often explore difficult relationships, the impact of family history, and the emotional toll of caring for others. He frequently shows how the desire to protect loved ones can lead to both devastating choices and profound fulfillment. For ten years, these themes were central to his work, but after the intense 2020 miniseries *I Know This Much Is True*, starring Mark Ruffalo in a dual role portraying men battling mental illness, he felt ready to move on to new projects.

I had friends tell me they stopped watching the show just a minute in – right when the character cut his hand! I laughed, thinking maybe I’d gone too far with the intensity. Working on the show was incredible, but afterward, I realized I didn’t want to make something similar again. I wanted to avoid repeatedly exploring endless tragedy after tragedy.

The director’s new film, *Roofman*, starring Channing Tatum, is a departure from his previous, more serious work, leaning heavily into comedy. The movie tells the true story of Jeffrey Manchester, a veteran who became a local legend in North Carolina by robbing McDonald’s restaurants – not by force, but by breaking in through the roofs. Surprisingly, he was always kind to the employees and even managed to escape from prison, living secretly inside a Toys ‘R’ Us. While the marketing campaign highlights Tatum playfully roller-skating and dancing in the iconic store, the film itself is more complex. It blends thriller elements with a family drama and a love story, exploring both the compassion and the impulsive behavior that led Manchester to a decades-long prison sentence. Though it’s still a deeply emotional film, the director says he focused more on themes of forgiveness and understanding this time around.

I first learned about Jeffrey Manchester around 2021, and his story really caught my attention. I had just finished making *I Know This Much Is True*, which came out right as the pandemic started. I quickly realized how deeply it affected people. I’ve always been drawn to darker themes, and I’ve always explored that in my work. For 15 years, my films focused on family history, what we inherit, and our legacies. After finishing *I Know This Much Is True* – a very dark show, though with a bit of hope at the end – I felt like I’d explored everything I wanted to with that kind of story. I started thinking about what originally made me fall in love with movies – the films from the 80s and 90s I grew up watching in theaters and then renting on VHS. I’d even record them when they were on HBO and watch them repeatedly. I was trying to figure out *what was it about those movies that inspired me to become a filmmaker?* I was simply searching for that feeling again.

I’ve always been drawn to films that balance humor with a touch of sadness, like *Risky Business* and *Big*, and *Roofman* felt like it fit that mold. After the intensity of *I Know This Much Is True*, I felt completely drained and needed something new, but I couldn’t force it. Then my producer, Jamie Patricof, sent me a script about a guy who robbed McDonald’s, but with this strange, almost sweet quirk – he’d give people their coats before locking them up! And the story didn’t stop there; he escaped prison and hid in a toy store! I was intrigued, but I knew I needed to speak with the real Jeff Manchester, the man behind the story. He was in a maximum-security prison in North Carolina, and when we first spoke, I was struck by how cheerful and funny he was, even in that situation. He told me unbelievable stories. What really surprised me was that after our initial 15-minute call, he kept calling. For four and a half years, he’d call me about four times a week, and we’d talk for hours. He even started calling me ‘Dr. Derek’! It was clear he really needed someone to talk to. I realized he saw his own life as a movie, and he was already imagining how it would all be told. It was fascinating.

It sounds like you were exhausted by stories focusing on family history and inherited mistakes, and you saw similar themes in my film, *Roofman*, with Jeff grappling with becoming a father figure while on the run. I’m curious, why do you think you keep returning to these ideas in your work? For me, making this movie was a realization that I can only be myself. I see comedy and tragedy as two sides of the same coin – my wife is a comedian, and I’ve noticed most comedians are actually very serious people. While my imagination leans towards darker themes, I’m fundamentally optimistic. Ultimately, this film is about fatherhood, which has been the most important experience of my life. It’s also why I haven’t made more movies over the years – I’ve prioritized being present for my sons. I’ve always worked from home, waking up early to write before they woke up, making breakfast, taking them to school, and being there to pick them up. Family has always been a huge influence on me, and being a dad has always been my priority.

We often think in terms of heroes and villains, but in reality, people are more complex. I’ve never met anyone who perfectly fits either of those roles. I’ve seen heroic and villainous actions, but not complete ‘heroes’ or ‘villains.’ I was particularly interested in the character of Jeff because he was full of contradictions. This story isn’t really about building a legacy; it’s more about the responsibilities of fatherhood and what it means to provide for a family. It’s easy to lose your way in a society that focuses so much on possessions and material wealth—where your worth is measured by things like your travel class, house size, car, or clothes. Jeff came from a different time, and he struggled to give his children the same lifestyle he had growing up. Back in the 1950s, a single-income family could often afford a house and a car, which isn’t always the case today.

Everyone deserves a chance at a good life, but it’s getting harder and harder to achieve. The film focuses on Jeff, a man struggling to support his family, which leads him to make some serious errors in judgment. The story explores the different sides of his personality: Jeffrey Manchester, who can’t find work or be a reliable family member; Roofman, a resourceful but flawed character who helps Jeff; and ‘John Zorn,’ an idealized persona Jeff creates when he starts dating Leigh. These different aspects of himself are constantly in conflict, and ultimately, it’s a heartbreaking yet compelling story.

Similar to Jeff’s character, Ryan Gosling’s character in *The Place Beyond the Pines* turns to crime because of the pressure to provide. I think about the line, ‘I’m still his father, I can give him things,’ and how he resorts to robbing banks to do that. It really makes you think about that pressure we all feel. I definitely relate to it. Growing up, Christmas morning was overwhelming – I was paralyzed by all the gifts. My parents were great, and I was thrilled to get a drum set, but what I really wanted was just their time and attention. Now, as a father, I’m incredibly aware of how quickly time passes, maybe too much so. It started when I worked with Jeff – I began noticing ‘last times’ in people’s lives. I realized I’d already read my sons their last bedtime story without even realizing it. Once you start thinking about that, you want to make every moment special and memorable. My wife said this movie felt more personal than anything I’d done before. Mahershala Ali recently told me I succeeded where Jeff’s character failed. I think a lot of my characters are really just reflections of my own life, cautionary tales about how to navigate it. I put so much pressure on those ‘last times,’ trying to create unforgettable moments, because I want to be present and share them with my family. And I think Jeff’s character does that too.

Leigh explained that when she met her husband, he improved her family’s life, bringing a lot of positive change. But Jeff, a character I’m portraying, takes things to an extreme. He’d use a sledgehammer to swat an ant – it’s just too much, and it’s not sustainable. I connect with that tendency towards extremes. So, when making this movie, I decided to fully embrace Jeff’s over-the-top personality and blend different genres. I was actually walking my dog in the park, trying to figure out how to film the scene where he’s arrested at a birthday party. My dog was pulling me in one direction, and there happened to be a mariachi band playing at a birthday party in the park. That’s when it hit me – Jeff would definitely hire a mariachi band! I realized I needed to follow all of Jeff’s exaggerated impulses for this movie.

You reunited with the entire crew from your film *Blue Valentine* for this movie – your cinematographer, production designer, producers, and editor. Considering it’s been 15 years since *Blue Valentine*, what did working with the same team bring to this project?

I was at a point in my life where I was thinking about what I wanted to achieve, and I wanted to make something joyful, like building a toy store and telling a story about rediscovering your inner child. I really wanted to work with the people who were there at the beginning of my career. I was shooting a commercial in Los Angeles and realized I wanted to recreate that early energy. I had everyone from *Blue Valentine* over for a barbecue and thought, ‘Let’s do this again!’

We made *Blue Valentine* with very little money, and it took a huge part of my life. When *Roofman* came along, it was going to be a very different film with Channing Tatum in a toy store, but studios weren’t sure it was something they wanted to make. Thankfully, Miramax and others stepped in, but like *Blue Valentine*, we still had a limited budget. The core team from *Blue Valentine* already knew how to make a film under those conditions. There were challenges – like a tight 35-day shooting schedule when everyone expected 55 days – but we figured it out. We also insisted on shooting on film. I wanted us to recapture the spirit we had 16 or 17 years ago and remember why we started making movies in the first place. It’s harder to do that after so many years. You can become complacent, but I think the struggles we faced during filming are actually visible in the final product – you can feel the energy and urgency.

The film features a reunion with actors Ben Mendelsohn and Emory Cohen, who previously starred together in *The Place Beyond the Pines*. Mendelsohn plays a pastor, and Cohen plays Otis, a character who was originally written with no lines. I was incredibly impressed with Emory in *The Bikeriders* and immediately wanted to work with him again. I asked him to help develop the role of Otis, and he came back with the now-famous M&Ms scene, giving the character a moving journey of overcoming bullying and finding courage. I had always envisioned Ben singing Randy Newman’s ‘I’ll Be Home,’ and while his initial instinct was a deeper, gravelly voice, I encouraged him to sing in falsetto, which he brilliantly executed. For me, the experience of working with the actors and crew on set is just as valuable as the finished film itself.

We’ve been discussing potential projects, and I wanted to ask about *Wolfman*, the film Ryan Gosling and I were developing. I spent about two years working on it, and with my love for darker themes, it was really fun to write. Unfortunately, it didn’t come to fruition. I grew up watching horror – *Creepshow* was the first movie I ever rented on VHS! I even recently told Sam Raimi how many times I watched *Evil Dead* as a kid. Horror is something I’m passionate about, and I definitely plan to direct a horror film someday. Ryan is incredibly talented, and I hope we get the chance to collaborate again in the future. Only time will tell if that happens.

I’ve cast Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes, and Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender, as couples who fall in love and start families in my films. It’s funny, people have pointed out I seem to have a knack for pairing actors who have great chemistry! I don’t usually do chemistry reads or even traditional auditions. I really focus on getting to know the actors as people first. For example, I spent six hours walking with Channing Tatum, not discussing the movie at all, just to understand who he is. I knew Ryan well, and when Eva came in to audition for ‘The Place Beyond the Pines,’ she admitted she hated auditions. So, instead, I asked her to show me around L.A. and tell me about her life. I just wanted to get a feel for who she was as a person. After spending time with her, I knew she and Ryan would connect. It was the same with Alicia and Michael. Ultimately, it’s crucial to me to work with good people, and I’m thrilled when they find a connection, both on and off screen.

I love the idea that you could have a matchmaking sideline. 
Hey, if this doesn’t work out!

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2025-10-16 18:57