Dir: Rich Peppiatt
Cast: Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, Josie Walker, Fionnula Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds, Adam Best, Simone Kirby, Michael Fassbender
The provocative Irish language rap group “Kneecap” have their origins explored in this fittingly hilarious and unrestrained tale of cultural preservation and freedom of speech
It has seemed for a few years now that the major Hollywood studios have been cashing in on the legacies of some of music’s most iconic stars. While some have fared better than others, either critically or commercially, the music biopic has largely become rather stale over the years. Often resulting from formulaic storytelling and lack of character depth, most modern music biopics pay surface level tributes to their central star, who in most cases are deserving of so much more. This year alone we have seen both Bob Marley and Amy Winehouse depicted in their own theatrical releases in “One Love” and “Back to Black” respectively, and despite both musicians being excellently portrayed on screen by Kingsley Ben-Adir and Marisa Abela, neither subject’s personal trials and tribulations are ever fully explored.
It is a subgenre that is crying out for some fresh blood, and not just from a narrative stand point but also regarding the musicians at its centre. While the likes of Marley and Winehouse have gone on to be globally influential even years after their deaths, most music biopics focus on artists that have had their time, rather then celebrating those artists making their voices heard in the present day. Accessibility is crucial to modern society in order to educate, or inform audiences and the public in general of advocates within the music industry and what they stand for. Similarly in the most recent musical origin story, “Kneecap”, it is explained that back in 2018 the Irish language was on the brink of extinction as a result of centuries old material being the fulcrum in the Irish nations keeping their native tongue alive. A language needs to grow and be used by the younger generations in order to survive, and generations old text was not encouraging the Irish youth to drop the more prolific English language.
In all honesty, up until earlier this year I was not familiar at all with Kneecap’s music or what they stood for. In fact, I had never even heard of them until their self-titled film took home the NEXT Audience Award at Sundance at 2024. Directed by English-Irish filmmaker Rich Peppiatt in his narrative feature debut, “Kneecap” is a semi-autobiographical origin story of the Belfast rap trio, with all three members; Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh and JJ Ó Dochartaigh, playing fictitious versions of themselves. The film explores how the rap group played their part in revitalising the language in modern society with the majority of their lyrics being performed in their native Irish, accompanied by stylised subtitles for us English speakers. The group’s emergence came in 2018, against the backdrop of Sinn Féin’s proposed Irish Language Act, which would legally place Irish on the same level as English across Ireland.
In the film Liam and Naoise have grown up in West Belfast, and both choose to speak predominantly in Irish having been taught the language as children by Naoise’s father, Arlo (Michael Fassbender). Having been a Republican Paramilitary, Arlo has remained in hiding for 10 years having faked his death to evade British authorities. As result, Naoise’s mother Dolores (Simone Kirby) becomes a recluse, failing to intervene in her son’s hedonistic, drug-fuelled lifestyle. Having been arrested at a drug-laden party, Liam refuses to co-operate with the police, insisting he can only speak Irish. Local music teacher JJ arrives to serve as translator, aiding Liam in avoiding charges as well discretely hiding his notebook which contains Republican propaganda and LSD. Having taken the notebook home himself, JJ realises that the propaganda it contains are actually rap lyrics and approaches Liam and Naoise with the idea of starting an Irish-language rap group. Liam decides to name the trio “Kneecap”, after the famous torture technique that was common during the Troubles.
After a few unsuccessful gigs, the bands popularity soars when they start handing out (and participating in) drugs on stage during their performances. With his teaching career and relationship with political campaigner Caitlin (Fionnuala Flaherty), potentially at risk, JJ performs anonymously as “DJ Próvaí” by donning a balaclava during gigs. As their popularity grows, “Kneecap” face controversy for promoting anti-social behaviour and drug use, garnering unwanted attention from local police detective Ellis (Josie Walker), as well as having their lives threatened by dissident republic organisation “Radical Republicans Against Drugs”.
This may be Peppiatt’s first attempt at a narrative feature, but the theatrical debutant has fully understood and embraced the brief here by perfectly capturing the rebellious and yet somewhat loveable nature of our central trio. Implementing various artistic styles, including hand-drawn overlays (calling back to the group’s real life street art origins) and even a brief claymation sequence, Peppiatt is able to present the world of drugs and freedom of speech from the band’s perspective whilst also respecting the audience’s experience. Ryan Kernaghan‘s energetic editing manages to tie all the comedic and political themes together for the most part, although there is some slight narrative re-treading in second half, which had me waning slightly.
There are plenty of strong visual gags on show throughout, with the regional based humour and comical portrayal of substance abuse paying homage to the Danny Boyle classic “Trainspotting”. There is one drug-induced episode in particular in which JJ dives head first into a seemingly bottomless wheelie bin to recover previously disposed of LSD, strongly resembling Ewan McGregor‘s antics inside the “worst toilet in Scotland”, in the Irvine Welsh adaptation. The tone of “Kneecap” is as off-kilter as the musicians at its centre, and the potentially risky move of having the rap group members play themselves ultimately pays off. Despite their lack of acting experience, Liam, Naoise and JJ manage to deliver the spirit and humour required to keep their own origin story engaging, and they are not without support. Veteran actors Fassbender and Kirby deliver strong supporting roles to help hammer home the more serious themes of national preservation and cultural heritage, Kirby in particular gives an devastatingly emotional performance as an incidental victim of her husband’s past actions.
As mentioned, I was not familiar with Kneecap’s music going into this, which I found refreshing given the usual expectation of musical biopics to have the lead performers nail classic hit after classic hit throughout their respective runtimes. While “Kneecap” allows the the group to showcase some of their work, my unfamiliarity with their songs allowed me to take on board their political stance present throughout the lyrics. Being English myself, it is always difficult to understand something that often contradicts your own education and how you perceive the world, and while their republican views will no doubt ruffle some feathers within the UK, I think music is an important vessel in allowing people from all cultures to share their experiences and outlooks. Rap in itself has become synonymous with musicians from largely troubled backgrounds, allowing them to freely express their opinions on societal and political issues whilst also promoting their musical talent.
While their music may not be fore everyone, me included in all honesty, Kneecap have managed to find their audience both in and and outside Northern Ireland. They managed to perform at Glastonbury this summer and now with their own theatrical picture, their stock is only going to go up. They may be controversial and their political standpoint may offend some, particularly in England, but they have successfully transitioned from radio to screen in this thought-provoking and riotous political music comedy.
Kneecap is now showing in UK Cinemas
Dan Loves Film 
nice!! Kneecap (2024)
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