Kneecap, 2024.
Written and Directed by Rich Peppiatt.
Starring Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, DJ Próvai, Josie Walker, Simone Kirby, Michael Fassbender, Cathal Mercer, Arlene Martine Morris, Adam Best, Fionnuala Flaherty, Donagh Deeney, Cathal Mercer, Matthew Sharpe, and Jessica Reynolds.
SYNOPSIS:
There are 80,000 native Irish speakers in Ireland. 6,000 live in the North of Ireland. Three of them became a rap group called Kneecap. This anarchic Belfast trio becomes the unlikely figurehead of a civil rights movement to save the mother tongue.
Upon finishing Kneecap, I wasn’t too surprised to find out that writer/director Rich Peppiatt also has experience helming music videos for the eponymous post-Troubles Irish hip-hop group this flashy, fictionalized biopic is based on. It has the infectious liveliness and playfulness of a music video but also captures the essence of the trio themselves. Without getting too sidetracked here, the problem with many biopics, especially as of late, is that they often come across as far too informative while covering far too much ground rather than immersing the viewer into the life and environment of the subject. Here, it’s about learning who these people are through their antics and what they stand for, presented with raucous style and service of the film’s substance.
Despite the group’s affection for drugs and debauchery, the activism they are fighting for comes down to getting Irish Gaelic recognized as the official language in the area during a time when law enforcement isn’t too keen on allowing that speak. Michael Fassbender’s Arlo, the father of rapper Naoise Ó Cairealláin (stage name Móglaí Bap and playing himself), teaches his son and longtime childhood friend Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh (stage name Mo Chara, also playing himself) that the language is akin to the last dodo and that every word uttered is a bullet symbolizing defiance. Arlo isn’t necessarily in his son’s life anymore, having had to fake his own death and abandon his family due to the severity of his activism as a member of the Irish Republican Army.
Picking up where his father left off, Naoise and Liam Og join forces with an Irish-speaking, unfulfilled music teacher named JJ Ó Dochartaigh (taking up the name DJ Próvai, and yes, also playing himself), beginning in a small pub before gradually taking the local population by storm. It’s a familiar story that stands out due to the whipsmart culturally relevant humor, entertainingly juvenile behavior, and the willingness to get weird (such as a claymation bit.)
With breakneck energy and hyperactive editing like this, there is also the slight frustration that Kneecap is all over the place, sometimes interrupting dramatic scenes for extended jokes, or utilizing entire characters that hardly feel fleshed out since they exist to be part of an unsurprising plot twist. Again, much of this tale is fabricated, including the entire character of Arlo, but rich Peppiatt is successful at holding it all together and finding meaningful emotional beats within the actual hip-hop beats.
The direction of the musical performances, in particular, is hypnotic and bursting with a perfect blend of drugs, sex, and activist lyrics. Perhaps that’s a no-brainer considering the group is playing themselves, but let it be known that the three leads are also gripping and hysterical outside of their comfort zone. However, there is also a feeling that Kneecap never quite gets the most out of every subplot or character (love interests, agoraphobic mothers, and more), but as a rowdy act of rebellion and celebration of this high-energy group.
Kneecap is simultaneously culturally specific, but with an accessible, vulgar sense of humor, it’s a blast that should turn viewers into supporters of their music and cause itself.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
