Knock Down the House

Knock Down the House
Official poster
Directed by	Rachel Lears
Written by	Rachel Lears Robin Blotnick
Produced by	Rachel Lears Robin Blotnick Sarah Olson
Starring	Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Amy Vilela Cori Bush Paula Jean Swearengin
Cinematography	Rachel Lears
Edited by	Robin Blotnick
Music by	Ryan Blotnick
Production companies	Jubilee Films Atlas Films Artemis Rising Films
Distributed by	Netflix
Release dates	January 27, 2019 (2019-01-27) (Sundance) May 1, 2019 (2019-05-01) (United States)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Knock Down the House is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Rachel Lears.^[1] It revolves around the 2018 congressional primary campaigns of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearengin, four progressive Democrats endorsed by Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress who ran in that year's midterm elections.^[2][3]

The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2019.^[4][5] It was released on May 1, 2019, by Netflix^[6] and received acclaim from critics.

Synopsis

The film follows four female Democrats who decided to run for Congress in the 2018 United States elections: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Amy Vilela of Nevada, Cori Bush of Missouri, and Paula Jean Swearengin of West Virginia. The film charts their campaigns in their respective Democratic primaries. The four candidates each run grassroots campaigns against long-time incumbents.^[7] Vilela, Bush, and Swearengin lost their primary elections, but Ocasio-Cortez won her primary and went on to win the general election. (However, two years later, during the next Congressional election cycle, Bush went on to win her primary and the general election in Missouri's 1st congressional district, and Swearengin was the Democratic nominee for West Virginia's Senate race, where she lost to the incumbent by over 40 points. Four years later, Bush also lost renomination.)

Candidates

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York's 14th congressional district)
• Amy Vilela (Nevada's 4th congressional district)
• Cori Bush (Missouri's 1st congressional district)
• Paula Jean Swearengin (United States Senate – West Virginia, Class 1)

Production

The day after Donald Trump's election, Rachel Lears began working on her new documentary film.^[8] She reached out to organizations such as Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats to find "charismatic female candidates who weren't career politicians, but had become newly galvanized to represent their communities."^[8] The search led her to four female candidates: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Amy Vilela of Nevada, Cori Bush of Missouri, and Paula Jean Swearengin of West Virginia.^[8] Lears raised $28,111 for the project through Kickstarter.^[8]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2019.^[9][10] Shortly after, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film for $10 million, beating out studios and streamers including Hulu, Neon, Focus Features and Amazon Studios.^[11][12] The film was also screened at the True/False Film Festival,^[13] the Athena Film Festival,^[14] the South by Southwest,^[15] the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival,^[16] and the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.^[17] It was released on May 1, 2019.^[18][19] It was uploaded to YouTube by Netflix on April 17, 2020.^[20]

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating from critics of 99% based on 103 reviews, with an average rating of 7.70/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A galvanizing glimpse behind the scenes of a pivotal election, Knock Down the House should prove engrossing for viewers of all political persuasions."^[21] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[22]

Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a grade of B, saying, "Stylistically, the film isn't at all fussy: on-screen graphics are straightforward and informative, and Lears leaves the editorializing out of her introductory captions, though the film's score often proves manipulative during the most unnecessary of times."^[23] Amy Nicholson of Variety wrote, "That Lears and co-writer Robin Blotnick made a real movie with intelligent camerawork and storytelling on a budget so small that they each pulled double duty as DP and editor, respectively, is a tribute to the energy of every woman who pledged that in 2018 they would make a difference."^[24] Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a pretty extraordinary cinematic artifact."^[25] Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, saying, "While this is not Frederick Wiseman-esque pure 'direct cinema' there are enough sequences that lean into that fly-on-the-wall type of film-making."^[26] Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and described it as "a worthwhile reminder for American citizens of the importance of making one's voice heard."^[27] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, who gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, wrote, "The fighting spirit of this female quartet blazes through every frame of this galvanizing film."^[28] Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, calling it "stirring and inspirational".^[29]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref(s)
Sundance Film Festival	February 2, 2019	U.S. Documentary Audience Award	Knock Down the House	Won	[30][31]
		Festival Favorite Award	Knock Down the House	Won
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards	November 10, 2019	Best Documentary	Knock Down the House	Nominated	[32]
		Best Political Documentary	Knock Down the House	Nominated
		Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary	Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin	Won
Cinema Eye Honors	January 6, 2020	Audience Choice Prize	Knock Down the House	Nominated	[33][34]
		The Unforgettables	Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez	Won
Black Reel Awards	February 6, 2020	Outstanding Documentary	Knock Down the House	Nominated	[35]

See also

• Surge (2020 American film) – a similarly themed documentary about women running for Congress in the 2018 United States elections

References

1. Siegel, Tatiana (November 28, 2018). "Sundance Unveils Politics-Heavy Lineup Featuring Ocasio-Cortez Doc, Feinstein Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
2. Croucher, Shane (November 29, 2018). "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Stars in Sundance Festival Film About 'Most Shocking Political Upset in Recent American History'". Newsweek. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
3. Adams, Sam (January 29, 2019). ""I Need to Take Up Space"". Slate. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
4. Ryan, Patrick (January 28, 2019). "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez surprises at Sundance premiere of her emotional new documentary". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
5. Palmer, Ewan (January 28, 2019). "Knock Down the House: Watch Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Receive Standing Ovation From Sundance Audience After Documentary Screening". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
6. Wilkinson, Alissa (April 22, 2019). "Watch: Netflix's Knock Down the House trailer is here to make politics feel a little more hopeful". Vox. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
7. Schwab, Nikki (January 8, 2019). "Ocasio-Cortez attending Sundance to see documentary about herself". New York Post. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
8. Desta, Yohana (June 29, 2018). "The Establishment Didn't Think Ocasio-Cortez Could Win—But This Documentary Filmmaker Did". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
9. Debruge, Peter (November 28, 2018). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2019 Features Lineup". Variety. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
10. "Knock Down the House". Sundance Film Festival. Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
11. Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 30, 2019). "Netflix Landing Hot-Button Political Documentary 'Knock Down The House' – Sundance". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
12. Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 6, 2019). "Sundance Festival Favorite 'Knock Down The House' Sold For Record $10 Million; Why This Golden Age For Docus?". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
13. O'Falt, Chris (February 6, 2019). "True/False Film Fest Announces 2019 Lineup". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
14. Kenigsberg, Ben (February 28, 2019). "6 Film Series to Catch in N.Y.C. This Weekend". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
15. Ramos, Dino-Ray (February 6, 2019). "SXSW Film Festival Sets 'Pet Sematary' As Closing Night Film, Unveils Slate Of Midnighters, Shorts, And More". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
16. O'Falt, Chris (March 11, 2019). "Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Announces Lineup — Exclusive". IndieWire. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
17. Vlessing, Etan (March 5, 2019). "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Doc 'Knock Down the House' Set for 2019 Hot Docs Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
18. ""Knock Down the House" - In Select Theaters and Launching Globally on Netflix on May 1". The Futon Critic. March 27, 2019. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
19. Viswanath, Jake (April 22, 2019). "Netflix's 'Knock Down The House' Documentary Trailer Will Make You Cry About Politics, In A Good Way — VIDEO". Bustle. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
20. Spangler, Todd (April 17, 2020). "Netflix Releases 10 Documentary Films and Series for Free on YouTube". Variety. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
21. "Knock Down the House (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. May 2019. Archived from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
22. "Knock Down the House". Metacritic. CBS. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
23. Erbland, Kate (January 30, 2019). "'Knock Down the House' Review: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Appears in Emotional, Energetic Doc". IndieWire. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
24. Nicholson, Amy (January 29, 2019). "Sundance Film Review: 'Knock Down the House'". Variety. Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
25. Felperin, Leslie (January 27, 2019). "'Knock Down the House': Film Review | Sundance 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
26. Hoffman, Jordan (January 28, 2019). "Knock Down the House review – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doc brings down the house". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
27. Allen, Nick (May 1, 2019). "Knock Down the House". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
28. Travers, Peter (April 30, 2019). "AOC Emerges as an Inspiring Example in 'Knock Down the House'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
29. Roeper, Richard (April 30, 2019). "Stirring documentary 'Knock Down the House' captures the rise of AOC". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
30. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 2, 2019). "'Clemency' & Documentary 'One Child Nation' Take Top Sundance Film Festival Awards". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
31. Hipes, Patrick (February 5, 2019). "AOC-Fronted 'Knock Down The House' Wins Sundance's Festival Favorite Award". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
32. Nordyke, Kimberly; Howard, Annie (November 10, 2019). "Critics' Choice Documentary Awards: 'Apollo 11' Tops Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
33. Lewis, Hilary (January 7, 2020). "Cinema Eye Honors: 'American Factory,' 'Apollo 11' Top Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
34. Howard, Annie (November 7, 2019). "Cinema Eye Honors: 'American Factory,' 'Apollo 11' Lead Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
35. Morales, Wilson (December 11, 2019). "20th Annual Black Reel Awards – Nominees Announced". Blackfilm. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2020.

External links

• Official website
• Knock Down the House at IMDb