Transit junkie Darius McCollum is profiled in new documentary OFF THE RAILS which has NYC premiere at DOC NYC fest on November 12 before opening at Metrograph on November 18
OFF THE RAILS (Adam Irving, 2016)
SVA Theatre
333 West 23rd St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
Saturday, November 12, $16-$18, 9:30
Opens November 18 at Metrograph
www.docnyc.net
www.offtherailsmovie.com
Ever since he was a child, Darius McCollum has been obsessed with mass transit. But McCollum, who was born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, is not just another train buff. He has spent the last thirty-five years in and out of jail, imprisoned for operating trains and buses in the metropolitan area. His surprising story is told in Adam Irving’s debut feature documentary, Off the Rails. “Over the years, I have operated trains in the New York City subway system, Metro-North, the Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit, and yet, I have never ever been an employee of any of these agencies,” McCollum says at the beginning of the film while putting on an MTA uniform like it was official military dress. “I feel like I’m proud, I feel I’m worthy of something, I feel like I’m a part of something,” he said about being decked out in MTA garb. McCollum doesn’t simply take the trains and buses on joyrides but follows all MTA rules and procedures, which he knows inside out. “For Darius, it was for the joy of driving the train safely. All of his crimes were victimless, there were no crashes, he would safely make all of the stops, make the announcements,” says Jude Domski, who wrote the play Boy Steals Train about McCollum. Through first-person accounts, family photos, home movies, archival footage, reenactments, and animation, McCollum is revealed to be a sweet-natured mama’s boy who has Asperger’s syndrome. “I’m really good with trains, but I can’t seem to figure out people,” he says. “And it’s hard for me to tell what someone is thinking or feeling. I get confused in social situations. I have trouble making friends.” A large but gentle man, McCollum understands the consequences of his actions but is unable to prevent himself from hopping on board and taking over when the opportunity arises. Comparing himself to Superman, McCollum explains, “His weakness is Kryptonite; my weakness is the third rail.”
Transit junkie Darius McCollum contemplates his future in Adam Irving’s OFF THE RAILS
Among those pointing out that McCollum has never been properly treated for his mental illness are Michael John Carley of the GRASP Asperger’s organization, psychoanalyst Michael Garfinkle, PhD, therapist Howard Irving, PhD, forensic social worker Rey Cusicanqui, and autism employment specialist Marcia Scheiner. While former assistant DA Michael Dougherty defends the city’s continued prosecution of McCollum, his new attorney, Sally Butler — who took over after McCollum’s longtime lawyer, Stephen Jackson, was indicted for fraud — has become a champion for McCollum, determined to see that justice is done and trying to get him the treatment he so obviously needs. Named Best Documentary at five film festivals, Off the Rails is a warm, intimate documentary, lovingly directed by Irving, who photographed the film, produced it with Glen Zipper, and wrote and edited it with Tchavdar Georgiev. Domski describes McCollum as “charming, affable, friendly, extremely gregarious,” and the same can be said for the film. One of the most touching parts comes when McCollum and his mother, Liz, read letters they have written to each other over the years, during long periods when they were unable to see each other in person. McCollum might be known in the press as the Public Transit Bandit, Train in the Neck, Transit Kook, and Train Thief, but Irving shows a different side of him, and maybe a different side of us in the process. Copresented by Rooftop Films, Off the Rails is screening November 12 at 9:30 at the SVA Theatre as part of the DOC NYC festival, with Irving on hand to discuss the film. It will then play November 18-24 at Metrograph, with journalist Sarah Wallace, who has interviewed McCollum, moderating a Q&A with Irving after the 7:30 show opening night. DOC NYC runs November 10-17 at IFC Center, the SVA Theatre, and Cinépolis Chelsea, consisting of more than two hundred films, workshops, panel discussions, and other events, the largest nonfiction festival in the world.