Collin Kelly-Sordelet

So many coming-of-age films focus on high school hijinks, with conflicts around cliques, first loves, and independence tied to grand gestures and deep emotions. Yet as the deceptively simple and endearing teen drama Escaping Ohio wisely observes, every great chapter must end for another to begin. Jessica Michael Davis, who also co-wrote the script and co-stars with Collin Kelly-Sordelet, makes her feature directing debut here, Escaping Ohio is an auspicious debut, a sensitive, mature, and empowering take on facing one’s fears and learning the right option is sometimes what’s good enough for the moment.