Friday, July 26, 2013

Who's That Knocking at My Door? B+

Here's another of the really significant American movies released in 1967, a film whose parts are better than its whole, but that still overall packs a pretty strong wallop. The movie plays a bit like the New Wave French movies in its randomness and the way its characters idolize American movies. That said, I think Scorsese has a little more on his mind, even if his ideas never really gel. The best thing about the film is how Scorsese throws around shocking bits of information through wild montages. The movie feels sloppy and and a bit too self-conscious because of it, but you can't say it's not interesting. And rather than portraying J.R. as a tormented Catholic throughout the film, Scorsese's decision to save that till the end was pretty effective because generally the idea of Catholic guilt is dispersed throughout an entire story. That's not a problem, but it's predictable in a way this movie never really is. Who's That Knocking at My Door? is nowhere near Scorsese's best work, but it's his debut so that doesn't really count as a complaint. 

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