“Sometimes hits change like a dirty bass line,” we are told in this fictionalized biopic of the eponymous Irish hip-hop trio. Underpinned by themes such as language and identity, the raucous, wild film by writer-director Rich Peppiatt remixes musical film cliches to Kneecap’s rebel melody with stirring verve. It’s not Kenneth Branagh who comes straight from Belfast with thumping beats.
Friends, drug dealers and republicans Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh (stage name: Mo Chara) and Naoise Ó Cairealláin (Móglaí Bap) find their calling when the latter is arrested. Teacher JJ Ó Dochartaigh (DJ Próvaí) is hired to translate Naoise’s Irish for English-speaking police officers. He sets Naoise’s rhymes from his notebook to music. Soon the Irish-speaking rappers are performing in pubs, scribbling “Brits Out” slogans on their bums, confusing ketamine with coke, calling for change – and inevitably attracting the attention of the “Peelers” and worse.
Mixing fiction/reality, comedy/drama and more, Peppiatt confidently walks the tightrope. Alongside professional actors like Michael Fassbender (Naoise’s father, a terrorist), Simone Kirby (Naoise’s mother) and others, the natural presence of the tracksuit-clad title trio carries the film confidently.
Peppiatt grounds the events in near-true events and also puts on engaging shows full of formal playfulness and wit, albeit with a nod to Trainspotting. And as things get darker, a subplot involving the Radical Republicans Against Drugs is amusingly reminiscent of Brian’s Life, as brutal beatings are fast-forwarded in VHS style.
Amidst these offbeat detours, a call for recognition of the Irish language is deftly handled. Even if the climax threatens to be sobering, the blistering soundtrack compensates for the risk: with a cut to Kneecap’s concert, Peppiatt breathes exuberant, intoxicating life into the film’s message.
Kneecap hits UK cinemas on August 23rd and is in US cinemas now.
For more information, see our guides to upcoming films and movie releases in 2024.
