Director: Adam Irving
By Alex Watson
Adam Irving's documentary featuring on notorious NYC transit offender Darius McCollum is a bittersweet tribute to a man's love of trains and how the government has kept him locked up for it. Having spent the majority of his adult life rolling in and out of prison, Off The Rails exposes the fundamental lack of care provided to him by the state, their refusal to acknowledge his mental illness and their unwillingness to really solve the problem.
As a bullied child, Darius McCollum often sought refuge in the NY Subway and when he did it was love at first sight. By age 12 he was helping out at pretty much every station and found an acceptance and love he never felt before. At 15 one MTA official asked him to drive his train down to World Trade Centre and even though Darius perfectly drove train, he was still arrested which would become his first of 29 arrests. Darius has spent a lifetime pretty much volunteering for the MTA, but although Irving makes out that his crimes are victimless, the State of New York refuses to see it that way.
Irving and many other commentators pin-point Darius' early Aspergers diagnosis as the root cause of his inability to stop riding trains and buses. One scene documents how one judge dismissed this diagnosis simply because she read an internet search and claimed "he should be able to control his impulses" His many prison sentences could have likely been avoided if state officials had provided adequate care. While imprisoned he has yet to be given counselling or any kind of psychiatric help. Frequently throughout Off The Rails we see Darius released from jail and forbidden to leave the city and visit his ailing mother in North Carolina. All they are succeeding in doing is putting an addict right next to his addiction again. While he's a continual source of humiliation to the MTA, we question whether their constant prosecution is necessary?
Throughout this movie, the audience will find its emotions flying up and down as we fear what will happen to this man next. There are moments which make us smile such as the heart-warming story of Darius impersonating a transit supervisor and telling employees how to improve their work or his brief finding of love with ex-wife Nelly. It's Darius' relationship with his beloved mother that gets us the most as despite almost never seeing her son she still loves him unconditionally. She is convinced that moving her son to North Carolina with her will end his obsession one and for all, but getting him there is the big problem. Many people got to bat for Darius throughout this movie such as social workers, advocates, even a former NY district attorney expresses a degree of sympathy for him. Despite their support, Darius is treated simply as a felon and it feels like a matter of time before he ends up inside again.
McCollum himself emerges as a colorful and at times entertaining subject and his complete honesty about his inability to give his love of riding the rails is deeply moving. Wanting to make a change but frequently denied the tools to do so, Darius is a figure who has gained a notoriety in the New York media for following what he loves. Off The Rails is a picture that offers plenty of solution and paths for people to take, but the state seems determined to keep him on the same path. As the movie's credits close in we hope for an ending that brings us the warmth and closure we so desperately seek but those hoping for a fairy tale better be prepared.
One of the stand out films from this year's Bloor Hot Docs Festival, Adam Irving's film might not have much exposure in the mainstream, but this is documentary that is worth seeking out.
No comments:
Post a Comment