Name: Off the Rails
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2016-06-24T22:45:54-07:00
Rating: 100

critics consensus

Off the Rails sparks interest with its bizarre story, but its impact lingers thanks to its empathetic treatment of its subject -- and clear advocacy for a marginalized sector of society. Read critic reviews

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Off the Rails Photos

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Movie Info

The life of Darius McCollum, a man whose obsession with mass transit has landed him in jail 32 times for impersonating drivers, conductors, token booth clerks, and track repairmen.

Genre:

documentary
Original Language:

English
Director:

Adam Irving
Producer:

Adam Irving, Glen Zipper
Writer:

Tchavdar Georgiev, Adam Irving
Release Date (Theaters):

Nov 4, 2016 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Feb 24, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA):

$8.8K
Runtime:

1h 26m
Production Co:

Zipper Bros Films

Cast & Crew

Shaun Clarke

Romel Harripersaud

Yun Liu

Shapour Daneshmand

Jude Domski

Devonté Lewis

Show all Cast & Crew

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Critic Reviews for Off the Rails

All Critics (23) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (23)

If nothing else, Off the Rails, which includes a few too many reenactments for my taste, does what many good documentaries do. It provides us with a window into the psyche of a person worth caring about.

November 18, 2016 | Rating: A- | Full Review…

Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor
An assured and thoughtful debut.

November 17, 2016 | Full Review…

Neil Genzlinger
New York Times
Though the film eventually grows as repetitious as its subject's habit, this odd tale has an undeniable bizarro human-interest fascination.

November 11, 2016 | Full Review…

Dennis Harvey
Variety
Off The Rails uses interviews, animation and dramatic reconstructions to tell McCollum's strange story but these devices are never flashy or distracting.

November 4, 2016 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Scott Jordan Harris
RogerEbert.com
[An] excellent documentary ...

November 3, 2016 | Full Review…

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
While we fret over a situation offering no easy solutions, Irving alternates between colorful anecdotes from McCollum's illicit career and examples of the way the courts have failed him.

November 1, 2016 | Full Review…

John DeFore
Hollywood Reporter
There's triumph amidst the pathos here, and it's frustrating to try and figure out how Darius' life could have been filled with more of those victories.

August 28, 2018 | Full Review…

Steve Erickson
Gay City News
Irving tackles the difficult subjects of mental illness, criminal behaviour, trauma, and a revolving door justice system with strength and dexterity.

August 28, 2018 | Rating: 4.7/5 | Full Review…

Andrew Parker
The Gate
Off the Rails succeeds in giving us a glimpse into a mind too easily labeled as "troubled" or "different" and paints Darius as a sympathetic figure following a passion.

June 26, 2018 | Full Review…

Abbey Bender
Brooklyn Magazine
Writer-director Adam Irving and writer Tchavdar Georgiev, provide a comprehensive, bittersweet portrait of a man who is a round peg that society keeps trying to force into a square hole.

February 7, 2017 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
In addition to being a character study of a tragic figure, Off the Rails is an indictment of a justice system that hasn't been on the rails for a long time, if ever.

December 22, 2016 | Full Review…

Sherilyn Connelly
SF Weekly
[Off the Rails has] such a charismatic protagonist and such an interesting conundrum at its core.

December 20, 2016 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Marty Mapes
Movie Habit