Stand Clear of the Closing Doors

After being scolded for skipping class, Ricky, a teenager on the autism spectrum, bolts and disappears into New York City's subway. Alone and overwhelmed, he spends several days underground, encountering commuters, transit workers, and people on the margins, forming fragile, mostly nonverbal ties. Above ground, his mother Mariana scrambles to mobilize neighbors, shelters, and authorities as tension builds with Hurricane Sandy looming over Far Rockaway. The film follows these parallel efforts without revealing twists, showing how a neighborhood reacts to a missing child and how the subway can feel like a different world. It's drawn from a true incident and keeps a quiet, observational tone.

Stand Clear of the Closing Doors was directed by Sam Fleischner and created by Rose Lichter-Marck and Micah Bloomberg. Released in 2014, the drama adapts a true incident and features Andrea Suarez, Jesus Valez, Azul Zorrilla, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, and Marsha Stephanie Blake.

The film received a limited theatrical release and didn't generate wide box office attention, so gross figures weren't widely reported. It found most of its audience through specialty screenings and word of mouth, appealing mainly to viewers interested in indie dramas and location-rooted stories.

Critics and community viewers noted the film for centering an autistic protagonist and for shooting on location in Far Rockaway during the Hurricane Sandy period, which gave it a strong sense of place. It encouraged conversations about urban vulnerability, caregiving, and how ordinary New Yorkers respond when someone goes missing.

Critical response was mixed to positive, reflected by a modest average vote of 6.2 out of 10 from a small sample. Reviewers praised the naturalistic performances, especially from the young leads, and the film's focus on family, communal responsibility, urban isolation, and the extra pressure introduced by the approaching storm.