Off the Rails (2016 film)
Off the Rails: The Darius McCollum Story | |
---|---|
Directed by | Adam Irving |
Written by | Adam Irving Tchavdar Georgiev |
Produced by | Glen Zipper Adam Irving |
Starring | Darius McCollum |
Cinematography | Adam Irving |
Edited by | Adam Irving Tchavdar Georgiev |
Music by | Duncan Thum Steve Gernes |
Production company | Zipper Bros Films |
Distributed by |
|
Release dates |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Off the Rails: The Darius McCollum Story is a 2016 American
Synopsis
As a boy in
McCollum has Asperger's syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by social impairment, repetitive behaviors, and an intense interest in one subject.[1] Although he never damaged any property or hurt anyone,[6][7] he has spent 23 years in maximum security prison for transit-related crimes.[8] He has been arrested 32 times, most recently in November 2016.[4]
Background and production
Director Adam Irving initially read about McCollum's transit-related escapades by happenstance on Wikipedia and thought it would make a good subject for a documentary.[6][7] After doing more research on McCollum, Irving flew to New York to meet with Jude Domski, who wrote and produced a 2003 play about McCollum called Boy Steals Train. Domski helped Irving get in touch with McCollum, who was in jail at Rikers Island in New York. Over the next six months, Irving and McCollum exchanged about 100 letters and phone calls before Irving visited him at Rikers in March 2013.[6][9] Irving directed, produced, shot and edited the film, which took three years to complete.[8]
The film was shot in both New York and Toronto. Some reenactments were filmed in Toronto's Lower Bay station, a closed subway station that is still functional for moving out-of-service trains, and which has been used as a movie set in several films.[10]
Release
Off the Rails premiered at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina on April 7, 2016.[7] Its international premiere was on May 4, 2016 at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto.[11] Its European premiere was at London's Raindance Film Festival on September 23, 2016.[8]
The film's international theatrical release began in Toronto on October 7, 2016,[12] followed by its domestic release in Los Angeles on November 4, 2016.[13] On November 18, 2016, it opened at the Metrograph Theatre in New York.[4]
Reception
Off the Rails was nominated for a 2016 Critics' Choice Documentary Award for Best First Documentary Feature,
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 100% score with an average rating of 8.14/10 based on 23 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Off the Rails sparks interest with its bizarre story, but its impact lingers thanks to its empathetic treatment on its subject -- and clear advocacy for a marginalized sector of society".[19] On Metacritic, the film holds an average score of 80 out of 100 based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[20]
References
- ^ New York Times, November 17, 2016.
- ^ Wolfgang Saxon, "Riders Unaware as Boy, 15, Operates Ind Train," New York Times, January 31, 1981.
- ^ a b John De Fore, "'Off the Rails': Film Review," The Hollywood Reporter, May 31, 2016.
- ^ a b c Elise Nakhnikian, "Asperger's, the MTA, and the Criminal Justice System: Talking to Off The Rails director Adam Irving," Brooklyn Magazine, November 15, 2016.
- ^ a b Dennis Harvey, "Film Review: 'Off the Rails'," Variety, November 11, 2016.
- ^ a b c Lauren Wissot, "Five Questions with Adam Irving, Director/Producer/DP, 'Off the Rails'," International Documentary Association, May 3, 2016.
- ^ The Source, April 27, 2016.
- ^ a b c Damon Wise, "'Off the Rails' Director Adam Irving on Strange True-Life Story That Could Win Julia Roberts Her Next Oscar," Variety, September 26, 2016.
- ^ Dan Rivoli, "The story of Darius McCollum, NYC's notorious transit thief, to screen at Lower East Side's Metrograph theater," New York Daily News, November 13, 2016.
- ^ Davidson, Terry (April 30, 2016). "Off the Rails doc rides into Toronto". Toronto Sun.
- ^ Linda Barnard, "Hot Docs documentary Off the Rails pursues tale of a man obsessed by New York Transit," Toronto Star, May 5, 2016.
- ^ Brad Wheeler, "What documentary director Adam Irving is watching," The Globe and Mail, October 6, 2016.
- ^ a b Kenneth Turan, "'Off the Rails'" reveals a life devoted to, and imprisoned by, a mass-transit obsession," Los Angeles Times, November 3, 2016.
- ^ Pete Hammond, "'13th,' 'O.J.: Made In America' & 'Gleason' Lead Nominations For First Critics' Choice Documentary Awards," Deadline Hollywood, October 10, 2016.
- ^ Sarah Modo, "And the Award Goes to…" Doc NYC, November 17, 2016.
- ^ Kathleen Luppi, "'Embers' and 'Off the Rails' among Newport Beach Film Festival winners," Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2016.
- ^ Scott Feinberg, "'Off the Rails,' Doc Version of Upcoming Julia Roberts Drama, to Get Oscar-Qualifying Run," The Hollywood Reporter, August 31, 2016.
- ^ Brian Passey, "DOCUTAH documents tragedy, laughter," Detroit Free Press, September 12, 2016.
- ^ Off the Rails at Rotten Tomatoes. Accessed July 1, 2019.
- ^ Off the Rails at Metacritic. Accessed February 8, 2017.
- ^ Sam Weisberg, "Film Poll 2016," The Village Voice, 2016.