‘Knock Down the House’ Review: Netflix’s AOC Doc is a Ray of Hope

There’s no way Rachel Lears, the director of a new Netflix documentary Knock Down the House, could have known that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would soon be a superstar when she began filming the candidate in 2016. But sometimes, you just get really lucky. Lears took full advantage of the now-House Representative’s popularity in the editing room, and we don’t blame her in the slightest. The result is an incredibly intimate behind-the-scenes look at Ocasio-Cortez’s unprecedented journey to becoming the youngest woman to ever serve in Congress.

Technically, Knock Down the House—which premiered at Sundance in January, and will be released on Netflix May 1—is not just about Ocasio-Cortez. The film follows the primary campaigns of four progressive Democratic women: Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Amy Vilela of Nevada, Cori Bush of Missouri, and Paula Jean Swearengin of West Virginia. All were endorsed by a progressive political action committee called Brand New Congress, and all but Ocasio-Cortez—who as you probably know, won the midterm election, beating out the ten-term incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley—lost in their primary elections.

For that reason, it’s hard to feel invested in the campaigns of the other three women, who we see canvassing on their local issues from three years back. (Though perhaps that part of the film does serve as a necessary and bleak reminder that putting in the work and believing in yourself often aren’t enough.)  Lears seems to know this and delivers their stories succinctly without glossing over their importance. Vilela challenges Representative Steven Horsford after she tragically loses her daughter, who was turned away from a hospital over lack of insurance; Bush challenges Representative Lacy Clay after protesting the murder of Michael Brown; and Jean challenges Senator Joe Manchin after seeing health issues in her community caused by the coal industry.

But the majority of screentime goes to Ocasio-Cortez. Anyone who doubted the 29-year-old’s working-class talk will be proven wrong: We open with a look at Ocasio-Cortez’s waitressing job at a taco restaurant. From there we follow her to her tiny New York apartment for an intimate glimpse at her life with her ever-supportive boyfriend, Riley Roberts. We watch as she and her team build their grassroots campaign from the ground up. We watch as she schools Crowley in debates—or, in one case, schools his representative in a debate, since he doesn’t bother to show up. You can’t help but get emotional with her when she reacts to her election win: wide-eyed, shocked, surrounded by her screaming friends and supporters in a bar.

The film is undoubtedly preaching to its choir, but it does so with admirable heart. It’s not a flashy or groundbreaking approach to a political documentary, but if the intent was to inspire, it’s a rousing success. I won’t be at all surprised if, after watching this film, even more women decide to throw their names into the primary ring next year. And what could be more important than that?

Stream Knock Down the House on Netflix