Kneecap, directed by Rich Peppiatt, centres around the real-life story of the eponymous Northern Irish hip-hop group. It is a dedicated passion project in which the band members star as themselves, with surprisingly effective results.

The story focuses on Liam ó Hannaidh and Naoise ó Cairealláin, who music teacher JJ Ó Dochartaigh discovers after he reads their notebook containing Irish rap lyrics. The resulting musical collaboration kickstarts a movement that looks to rehabilitate the Irish language back into popular culture and send a political message to the rest of Britain via their rave-style hip-hop. The plot feels lively and heartwarming as an underdog story with some hilarity sprinkled in. Even though the structure is predictable and follows a standard rise-dilemma-resolution format, the film makes as much of an emotional splash as it can within these restrictive brackets.

As expected in this autobiographical piece, the soundtrack is laced almost entirely with original music, including the group’s catchiest hits, such as ‘C.E.A.R.T.A’ (‘Rights’ in Irish) and ‘H.O.O.D’. Some of the most entertaining sequences – albeit dramatised according to the group – are those in which we see the trio, crowded in JJ’s garage studio, creating their tracks in a montage format. The garage and the other sets all feel lived in and brilliantly designed, with a loud colour palette in place for the entire film, complimenting the jittery pacing.

The cinematography in these scenes and the rest throughout the film is erratic and exciting, encapsulating the real-life energy of the group and their live shows. The direction is equally as manic, with small comic editing touches giving the movie a cartoonish flair. The Irish writing which often appears in scrawled text on screen affirms this. It gives the project a messy, scrapbook essence which once again compliments their enthusiasm as a band and acts as a personification of their style. It is filled with just as much personality as other comparable music biopics in recent years, such as Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and Respect (2021).

Unsurprisingly, the film also does an admirable job of acknowledging the political context of which the group was inspired. Arlo, Naoise’s father (Michael Fassbender) is a former republican paramilitary currently on the run from the British authorities, who tries to encourage his son to fight traditionally for the family cause. Liam struggles too throughout the film with his political background and its effect on his life; he feels guilty about seeing a Protestant girl and weighs in on his commitment to both her and his music. It is another welcome layer to the film which speaks volumes about the emotional value of the group’s music and their unionist worldview. It is through these challenges that the characters are developed, and the plot is clear enough for even first-time Kneecap experiencers to understand. The acting in the movie in general, despite the trio being amateurs, is commendable, with passionate performances employed by the whole cast. In press interviews, Fassbender especially has declared that the film was an opportunity to reconnect with his Irish roots and was therefore also a very personal project for the prolific actor.

The film is entirely an exploration of the ongoing preservation of the Irish language and culture. Having recently visited Belfast for my own dissertation research, it was fascinating to visit the sites such as the Peace Wall near Shankill Road and other city landmarks featured in the film. It is a sign-of-the-times project, encapsulating the ongoing process of postcolonialism not only occurring in Ireland but countries around the world.

Verdict: 

8/10

Kneecap can be bought and streamed on Amazon now.

Trailer: 

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