Review: There are relatively few coming of age stories in the documentary film genre, and for good reason. Unlike fictional films, it’s hard to get people to truly open up in front of a camera, even more so if that main character is a teenager. So it was with great surprise director Nicole Opper’s film Off and Running managed to successfully create a documentary that fit in this niche. Opper’s film is not so great as to be mentioned with powerful films like Hoop Dreams or Gates of Heaven, but it’s also not too much of a stretch to see the similarities either. Much like these two classics, Off and Running asks viewers to relate to a character they may have little in common with in order to discover some powerful life lessons. Avery, an African American track star adopted by two Jewish lesbians lives a life far from ordinary, but she seeks the answers to two very important questions every human struggles with: what makes me be and where do I belong? There are no easy answers for anyone, and for Avery, her search involves opening old wounds and creating new ones. I for one can’t imagine what it would be like to suddenly try to deal with notions of abandonment with her birth mother while also battling the insecurity issues her search caused her parents. For viewers who did not grow up in adopted families, her struggle (and seeming spiral downwards) is a great revelation. The whole success of this film relies on Avery opening up to the camera and it’s astounding to see how honest she is. In all the characters in Off and Running, there is just a certain level of honesty and ‘truth in the details’ that makes it work. Even when they downplay or hide their thoughts and emotions, director Opper finds ways to display them. For this reason it is so odd that Off and Running skims over some major issues in Avery’s life. Having such open and honest subjects should warrant the exploration and with the relatively short run time it is currently at, one could expect Opper to add at least another 15 to 20 minutes without straining audiences. She also unfortunately tries to nicely wrap up her film in a forced and unrealistic way. Life does not always have the Hollywood ending we all hope for and most audiences are smart enough to recognize this in documentaries. Whether the ending is accurate or slightly modified, it’s hard to believe that suddenly everything comes together as nicely as it did. These surprising shortcomings are a disappointment impeding an otherwise great film. But Opper still has created a documentary worthy of your time. It will still make you marvel at the honesty and openness of the subjects and it will still make you reflect on the important questions in life. Review by Matthew Abshire Informative: 4- successfully captures the honest emotions and thoughts of a girl struggling with her identity Entertainment: 4- it’s short, simple and charming; like any good coming of age story Technical: 4- Opper works off her amazing opportunity to create a well thought out film Overall: 4- it takes an oddly reserved approach for being so invasive into this family’s life, but is a wonderful look at identity
Off and Running
Format: DVD Year: 2010 Running Time: 78 Min Distributor: First Run Features Producer: Nicole Opper and Sharese Bullock Director: Nicole Opper Date Reviewed: 1-24-2010 Story: African-American teen Avery Klein-Cloud has white Jewish lesbian parents, an older Puerto Rican brother and a younger Korean brother. As she tries to contact her biological mother, Avery risks alienating the adoptive family she's always loved. Examining the complexities of race, identity and family, filmmaker Nicole Opper's compelling documentary follows Avery as she wrestles with the consequences of researching her roots (NetFlix).