Movie Review - Knock Down the House

The 2016 election saw the first woman nominated by a major party almost become President of the United States. The results of that election motivated a lot of women to enter into politics. They did so for the 2018 elections, also known as the midterm elections. According to Time magazine, women candidates have broken records in the 2018 midterm in the areas of governor and Congressional seats. For example, the U.S. House of Representatives elected a record number of women, somewhere near or around triple digits. In that, there were several firsts and several demographic boundaries shattered.

Among them was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who at age 29 became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She flew under the radar in the mainstream media for the most part until June 26 when she defeated 10-term congressman Joe Crowley in the primary for New York's 14th District. Once she did, she was immediately catapulted into the stratosphere, garnering nationwide coverage. From that point forward, she has become a political star having appeared on TV shows like The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. It hasn't even been a year since she won the November 6 general election and already she's seen as a leading member in Congress who isn't actually the leader or Speaker of the House. She's certainly become the face of the Democratic Socialists of America, perhaps even more so than Senator Bernie Sanders. If not, she's certainly seen as one of the top voices of the progressive movement in the United States.

Directed by Rachel Lears, this documentary follows four of the women candidates, starting in 2017 and leading into the primary elections of 2018, specifically ending in July, five days after the June 26 primary in New York. It's not surprising that Ocasio-Cortez is the person whom starts the film and whom ends it. Why Lears focuses on Ocasio-Cortez is obvious in retrospect, but there's no way she could have known Ocasio-Cortez was going to win or become the star she now is. Through two grassroots political organizations, Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress, Lears decides to follow these four as seemingly important campaigns. As much as those other campaigns illuminate why people are running in a more profound way, they're dispatched in a way that is only meant to buttress the import of Ocasio-Cortez.

On a basic level, this documentary takes the audience almost step-by-step through the process of running for a political office, if one isn't rich or has the support of corporate donors or what's known as huge PACs. It's as much a peek into grassroots campaigns, which involve the candidate herself going door-to-door to pound the pavement herself. The film starts with Ocasio-Cortez's humble beginnings not only as a child but as an adult. We see her doing manual labor at a local bar, being a working-class woman, struggling to get by. Where the film goes, it's meant to be inspiring on how an average person can rise, as she did.

At the same time, we can't help but see that Ocasio-Cortez is something special. Maybe she's just young and energetic, compared to her older challenger. She certainly has a passion that might not be unique and her rise to prominence wasn't just by accident. Yet, whatever it is that's in her spirit, it certainly comes through here. Lears incorporates home videos of Ocasio-Cortez and weaves in a story of how a tragic loss in her life fuels her to this day.

However, the documentary introduces Paula Jean Swearengin, the candidate for the West Virginia Senate. It also introduces Cori Bush, the candidate for Missouri's 1st District. We meet as well Amy Vilela, the candidate for Nevada's 4th District. All three are amazing women. Each have different reasons and even tragic loss that fuel them. Interestingly, those reasons all have a through-line of the issue of healthcare. The specifics of those reasons are emotional and heartbreaking. Those specifics are more hard-hitting and worthy of more time than they get as compared to Ocasio-Cortez, but she becomes the proxy for those specifics or reasons.

It's not delved that much, but the corporate money issue is an underlying one here. The politics are controlled by a wealthy and elite group. Ocasio-Cortez keeps repeating the refrain of having the support of working-class people as opposed to the wealth of corporate America. With the other women candidates, it also comes down to a class warfare or wealth distribution argument as well. The film is probably not going to convert or change any minds, but it gives a better idea of who the progressives are and why they are.

Rated PG for language and brief smoking.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 27 mins.

In select theaters and on Netflix.