Sundance 2021 Review: Knocking – “It never quite delivers”

Knocking, the directorial debut of Frida Kempff, tells the story of Molly (Cecilia Milocco) as she tries to discover the source of some increasingly disturbing knocking sounds that haunt her in her new apartment building.

Molly is re-entering society after a devastating loss that led to a year-long stay in a mental health ward. As she leaves the ward after a discussion with her counselor (whom we hear but never actually see), Molly seems apprehensive yet hopeful.

She moves into her new apartment, meets her friendly Landlord Peter (Krister Kern) and begins to settle in. However, shortly after, she is woken by a knocking coming from above.  She goes upstairs to investigate and the man living above her denies both responsibility for or even hearing the knocking at all.  Shaken, but agreeing that perhaps it was simply “someone doing renovations”, Molly returns to her apartment.

Her counselor from the ward calls to check in on her regularly and suggests she tries to make her apartment more her own, and maybe revisit some old hobbies.  Molly shops for plants, eats an almost impossible amount of fruit, and tries to be content.  Unfortunately, the knocking keeps escalating, and Molly even starts to hear crying. Or does she? There are seeds planted throughout that make the audience question her grasp on reality.

The more her neighbors continue to deny knowledge of any knocking or crying, the more frantic and desperate Molly becomes to prove them wrong. The more frantic and desperate Molly seems, the less likely people are to believe her. So forth and so on.  Even when the authorities end up getting involved, they dismiss Molly based on her actions and behavior. It is very clear though that Molly truly believes someone is in danger, and is determined to save them.

Despite some red herrings, the film is so clearly sending a message about the potential dangers of gaslighting, that we are never really convinced that the sounds Molly hear are entirely in her head. The answers to what/if the sounds are come at the very end of the film and feel disappointingly rushed. Knocking has a very short run time and I thought the reveal should have been explored further. It felt like someone remembered last minute and an explanation was tacked on with a couple of last-minute twists.  

Knocking contains minimal dialogue. It relies instead on atmosphere and Milocco’s performance to provide suspense and further the plot. Luckily, both are very strong. Milocco is on screen almost every moment of the film, very frequently in closeup. The range of emotion her complicated character goes through in Knocking is extensive, and she nails all of it, primarily with facial expression alone. The frequent shots of just Molly’s face put us right there with her, sharing her thoughts.

This also lends to the overall claustrophobic atmosphere of the film, as does the extreme heat wave that is sweeping through Sweden at the time. Close ups of oozing, fruit, dead wildlife, and Molly’s rotting ceiling contribute a strong sense of decay and dread.  I just wish that the film itself had a bit more of both.

Knocking is stylish, well-made, and features an outstanding lead performance. Despite all of that, it never quite delivers upon its intriguing premise.