Knee Deep (2007) User Reviews

Not a comedy

[kennprop · 8/10 · 26 May 2019]

This is not a comedy .It is a story of abuse and betrayal. Let me first say I have lived in Maine for 35 years. I am very familiar with the Farmington Mane area and the faltering ag and wood based economy there. The old traditions of farming, wood cutting, and shoe shops is almost defunct. Dairy farming is in rapid decline.In the winter farmers cut wood.The papermills and small wood articles mfg. are closing at a rapid rate. Milk prices are very low and big volume dairy is not feasible for most.The University at Farmington and tourism are big local factors.Scenic lots that outsiders see as dream vacation spots are prized by developers. Everything is against the family sized unit in all these areas. The young man in this doc was always promised the family farm would be his. He quit school early and was his father's helper and almost his slave. The father died and the other name on the deed was of course his wifes. She wanted to sellout the farm, but gave her son time to setup some purchase financing. She had had enuf of farm life and small town life in Farmington. She was a trained nurse and wanted out. He did not get the financing and the farm was sold. The buildings were knocked down and the land subdivided. In a rage the son shot at his mother several times and hit her once. Evidently he was egged on by his girlfriend at the time. The son was arrested and charged, but the mother would not testify against him. I guess he served some time on a lesser charge. I used to see him on work release at a local farm and at the local livestock auction. I have no idea what he does now. He seemed a decent guy. Promises made.Promises not carried out. Bad family dynamics set in a dying world of Maine ag. It's a very sad story.

A Well-Crafted Documentary About Rural Maine

[mainerose · 10/10 · 5 October 2008]

Kudos to the filmmakers who produced such a fine film. The story of Josh Osborne and his girlfriend was headline news in the small, rural Maine town of Farmington. The film captures the hardscrabble life of a young man devoted to his animals and his land only to be nearly destroyed by the women he trusted---his girlfriend and his mother. Josh Osborne left school after sixth grade to work on his family's dairy farm. After his mother deserts the family and moves to Colorado (and after the death of his father) the ownership of the farm becomes a matter of dispute between young Osborne and his mother, Janette. After being promised that the farm would be his, Josh learns that the farm is being sold to a developer. Shots are fired, Janette is wounded, and Josh and his girlfriend are arrested for attempted murder. Both eventually serve time on lesser charges, in spite of the fact that members of the community are in sympathy with the actions of the pair.While critics have called this a dark comedy, it truly is more dark than comedic. One could hardly ask for a more accurate and intriguing study of the sociology and psychology of a family (and the surrounding rural area) whose crisis is never fully resolved. The film accurately portrays the crossroads in rural Maine where those greedy to develop Maine's vast land resources battle constantly with those who have held and worked the land for generations and who are desperate to swim against the flood tide of developers. The film presents a very different and disturbing portrait of the state to those who spend time vacationing on Maine's coast. No prettiness or touristy window-dressing---just hard facts and raw emotion.