Review of Who's That Knocking at My Door (1968) by Alexandre V — 24 Jan 2008

[font=Century Gothic]Martin Scorsese's dazzling debut feature film, "Who's That Knocking at My Door?" is about a neighborhood guy, J.R.(Harvey Keitel), who usually hangs out with a couple of pals, Joey(Lennard Kuras) and Sally Gaga(Michael Scala). One day, he meets a young woman(Zina Bethune) while waiting for the Staten Island Ferry. They bond over a French film magazine(Cahiers du Cinema?)while discussing "The Searchers."(The used to show movies at the Beacon Theatre?)[/font].

[font=Century Gothic][/font].

[font=Century Gothic]In fact, a lot of "Who's That Knocking at My Door?" does seem very much influenced by the French New Wave as Scorsese experiments with as many styles as he can think of. Along with the obvious cinematic references, he is also declaring his love for pop music which in more recent films has become something of a cliche. But he also pulls out elements from his own life, namely Catholicism and how J.R.'s views of women as either "broads' or "girls" is a prime symptom of the Madonna-whore complex(not to be confused with the Madonna-Tori Amos complex which is very different) which is an oversimplified way at looking at women who are in reality no different from men.(Trust me. Just ask one.) While J.R. is old fashioned, he is also open to new experiences like hiking upstate. But what does it say that J.R.'s girlfriend is never named?[/font].