Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1967)
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Who’s That Knocking at My Door Movie Review
Who’s That Knocking at My Door is a 1967 independent drama film written and directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Harvey Keitel. It was a serviceable debut for the director.
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“Everybody should like westerns“
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A young Catholic faces guilt when he discovers the love of his life has been raped in this first feature film from the famous American director Martin Scorsese. He was 25 when he made this movie and he definitely showed a lot of potential from the very beginning, though the end product was expectedly rough and too much like a student film.
There are many similarities between this film and the much better ‘Mean Streets’. From the get-go Scorsese developed his style and he concerned himself with themes that he would repeat later down the line. The protagonist here is your typical Scorsese protagonist, meaning that he is from the hood and a devout Catholic who is of course Italian-American.
The characterization is slight for a role that really demanded more exploration. The movie was supposed to be a character study, which it ended up being only in sporadic moments. Harvey Keitel was definitely visually memorable and quite physical in the role, but his performance overall was still only okay. Zina Bethune was actually better, but her role was weaker and frustratingly one-note.
Who’s That Knocking at My Door failed to properly explore its central theme of Catholic guilt and how religion intersects with sexuality in painful ways. The black-and-white cinematography is actually terrific for an indie feature and the movie looks pretty polished and at times even artistic in some fantastic choices for the director, who even then had a good eye for what works in cinema.
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But the insistence to go in circles when it comes to plot robbed the movie of a lot of its momentum. The sex scenes felt like an afterthought and unnecessary detours. The score, editing and pacing were all rough too. For a debut, it was commendable, but it’s far from truly engaging and/or substantial.
Who’s That Knocking at My Door was a solid debut for Martin Scorsese. The plot is basic and it failed to fully explore its central theme of religion’s role in sexuality, but the black-and-white cinematography is terrific and at times even quite artistic. The rough editing, pacing and too many unnecessary detours in plot definitely made the movie feel too amateurish at times, but for a debut, it was perfectly fine and it showcased from the get-go Scorsese’s knack’s at creating believable characters and cinematic storytelling.
My Rating – 3
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