“Blue Valentine” and “I Know This Much Is True” director Derek Cianfrance lightens up for the earnest and heartfelt Paramount Pictures release “Roofman.” The years-in-the-making project, which stars Channing Tatum as a real-life prison escapee named Jeffrey Manchester, reunited the “Place Beyond the Pines” filmmaker with his perennial producer, Jamie Patricof, whom IndieWire’s “Screen Talk” podcast brought on as a guest this week.
Patricof also publishes a Substack of his own called “Jamie’s List,” where he offers hot takes on food, politics, culture, and more, plus a podcast called “Lunch with Jamie,” where he sits down with thought leaders to discuss politics, current events, food, culture, sports, and more.
Talking with Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio on “Screen Talk,” he shares how “Roofman” balances Cianfrance’s signature indie film sensibility with the trappings of a more sincere studio picture circa the aughts. You know, the type of movie they just don’t make anymore.
He also discusses the moving screen chemistry between Tatum and Kirsten Dunst (who does career-best work here), how the film went from PG-13 to R-rated, and how they made the film with the modest (for a studio movie, anyway) budget of $19 million. It only opened last weekend to $8 million, but Patricof believes it has longevity as a holiday movie.
Elsewhere on this week’s episode, Anne and Ryan also debate “Is This Thing On?,” Bradley Cooper’s marriage separation dramedy starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern, which Ryan reviewed middlingly out of the New York Film Festival. Anne calls Arnett’s performance, here as a middle-aged father and soon-to-be divorcee who takes up standup comedy as therapy for his personal issues, “a revelation.” Ryan argues that Cooper’s decision to operate the camera himself (with Matthew Libatique serving as DP) leads to some directorial self-indulgence that makes for a frustrating, muddled experience that could’ve used more editorial discipline. Anne says it’s not an Oscar contender but instead a film aimed at pleasing its audience.
We also catch up, finally, on “Marty Supreme” after that film’s surprise secret screening premiere at the New York Film Festival last week.
Listen to the “Screen Talk” episode below.