You'd be amazed how often a short film crosses my desk with the optimistic declaration "We're working on the feature film!" 

I never know quite what to think. As a passionate advocate for indie filmmakers, I admire and support ambition. Truthfully, however, I often avoid short films intended to be a feature because they often feel incomplete and unsatisfying. 

To be even more honest, that journey toward a feature film is a difficult journey and an awful lot of short films never make it. 

Some short films? They're short films. Plain and simple. That's what they're meant to be. 

However, on occasion, magic happens. 

Knee High is quiet magic. It has been right around five years since writer/director Marissa Vonn's short film Knee High crossed my desk. The short film was impressive, a rural personal drama with a strong ensemble and a meaningful story brought beautifully to life. Vonn, who lived for four years in my home state of Indiana, avoided histrionics in bringing the rural work life to life and planted the seeds for a planned feature film. 

Here we are. Five years later. I was sitting at home recovering from surgery when the feature film Knee High crossed my desk. The story itself is largely the same, though the narrative has been given room to breathe and the characters feel more like our neighbors from the farm down the road. Cal Melbourne (Michael Ridley, returning from the short) is forced to grow up fast on Iowa's farmlands after a sudden loss. Over time, he comes to the realization that he must choose between salvaging his family's legacy or pursuing an unknown future for himself and his son, Avery (a returning Ben Bergthold). 

Knee High is a quiet yet familiar story. Vonn is a patient storyteller and an even more patient filmmaker. She understands this world and embraces it, though she's no longer living in it due to work and professional aspirations. As a lifelong Hoosier, I can easily say once you've lived in this world it never completely leaves you. 

Very early in the film's journey, lead Michael Ridley has already picked up a handful of acting prizes for his work as the soulful yet immensely human Cal. He's a guy who tries hard to do the right thing, though he often falls short. Ridley captures his layers and Vonn clearly has a warm affection for this man and the journey he's on. He's neither proposed for sainthood nor demonized here. He's a human being possessing of all the foibles, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities all humans possess. 

If you remember my review of the short film Knee High (You do. Don't you?), then you'll also remember my adoration for young Ben Bergthold. Bergthold is a little bit older here, though he's just as charming and just as gifted with a simple vulnerability that draws you in and holds you close. 

Patty Dunning is back as Mamie, just as steely and focused and wonderful this time around and feeling much more developed and whole as we get more time with her presence in the story. Melissa Keller takes over for Emily Solo as Kelsey, though she doesn't miss a beat as the ex far too often has to play the role of the more mature parent while secretly hoping that Calvin will eventually find his way. 

While it's hard to make Iowa unattractive, this Madrid, Iowa set film is beautifully captured by the lensing of Bruce Bales. Bales has so many beautiful shots here that you can't help but want a photo book to go along with it. While Bales captures the wonder of the rural setting, he's equally adept at the smalltown intimacies and relationships that unfold here. I would easily watch the film again just for Bales's lensing. Dakota Carpenter's production is similarly inspired with a warm honesty that immerses you in this world with all its glories and all its challenges. 

Knee High is a meditative and thoughtful reflection on rural life with all its wonder and also all its weaknesses. We grow to care about Calvin, a young man grieving intensely yet caught up in patriarchal expectations and conflicted emotions and relationships. Vonn's storytelling may be a tad straightforward, however, it never hits a false note and places before us characters who matter and characters who aren't often seen on-screen. While I'd love to see a film like Knee High at a multiplex, the truth is a film like Knee High isn't made because you expect to make millions. It's made because the story needs to be told. 

Indeed, Knee High tells a story that needs to be told and is a film that deserves to be seen. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic