DANCES WITH FILMS NEW YORK 2026 REVIEW! Director Salvatore Sciortino and screenwriter Josh Tate’s Roof drops us into a do-or-die premise that’s simple on paper and nasty in practice. The story traps two office workers in a situation where time is the enemy. Dev (Asif Ali) is a trader who gambled big with his client’s money and lost big time. If that wasn’t bad enough, his girlfriend just broke up with him. Clearly seeing the writing on the wall, Dev heads to the roof of the skyscraper he works at to vent and consider the next steps of his doomed life. His quiet moment on the roof is interrupted by Mary (Bella Heathcote), who’s yelling in frustration at her mother. Her stress isn’t helped by the fact that she’s pregnant.
Throwing her phone in anger, Mary heads to the roof door only to find that Dev didn’t prop it open, and now they’re locked out. Compounding the problem, Los Angeles is experiencing a major blackout, so people are heading home early ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. With no food, except the mints in Mary’s purse, no water, and only Mary’s broken cellphone, our heroes are trapped with no sign of help under the hot L.A. summer sun. Our story becomes one of survival in the most extreme situation for two white-collar workers. As their bodies begin to wither away, desperate…drastic choices must be made.
Dev (Asif Ali) and Mary (Bella Heathcote) on the rooftop in Salvatore Sciortino’s Roof (2026).
“…Mary heads to the roof door only to find that Dev didn’t prop it open, and now they’re locked out.”
If you’re expecting a story of two people from different sides of the tracks putting their differences aside to better understand one another, you’re in for a rude awakening. Roof leans on survival over contrived dramatic moments…as if you were stuck on a high-rise roof with no sign of help coming. The duo must learn to trust one another, share resources, and find a way to get help. The stakes are incredibly high, especially with the undue stress on Mary and her unborn child. Where the film succeeds is in telling the story of two people who are just like us and not big Hollywood action stars. I found myself always asking, “What would I do?” and “How far would I go to survive?”
For filmmakers, this 89-minute drama is also an example of where your dollars go. For Sciortino, it’s all about saving money: most of the film features two actors on a roof. This saves a good portion of the budget for two intense action sequences. I’m not going to say that Tate’s screenplay is devoid of plotholes, but it tells a compelling and whole story. Acting-wise, Ali and Heathcote give strong, endearing, authentic performances that overcome the few “but-what-about?” moments.
By the end, Roof leaves you chewing on the most unappealing part of survival: it’s not the heroics, it’s the decisions you didn’t think you were capable of making. That’s what sets it apart from your typical indie thriller.
Roof screened at the 2026 Dances with Films New York.
"…example of where your dollars go."
