Get Your Brits Out. And we’re off – Kneecap is an incendiary, revolutionary biopic about the Irish rap group of the same name that rap exclusively in the Irish language and are the most revolutionary band to come out of Ireland and the UK since the Sex Pistols. It’s a band that has led a reawakening of the Irish language and follows the waves of bands like Fontaines DC (who they’re touring with next year) to come out of Northern Ireland; and for once, doesn’t try to be a film about how shit it is to live in Ireland and how you should get to England at any costs, or bombings and the IRA – though as much as it claims otherwise, the IRA has a heavy shadow over the early days of this film. Kneecap nonetheless is excellent, wickedly inventive, bold and daring – in an age where most biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody are content to play Walk Hard: A Dewey Cox Story completely straight, Kneecap dares to offer something new.
For starters – what makes Kneecap different is that the ‘low life-scum’ of the artists themselves are actually played by the real life rappers. Mo Chara and Moglai Bap play ‘low-life scum’ Naoise and Liam Og, who we first meet splitting up from each other when the police interrupt a middle of an illegal rave; and we get a unique sequence about experiencing the bus on drugs. Kneecap feels like its director Rich Peppiatt knows how to navigate the cocaine and ketamine experience, multiple times before going on stage, the band take ketamine again instead of cocaine, including right before meeting a Radio Presenter from one of Northern Ireland’s major radio stations. If all you know about Northern Ireland is Derry Girls, Kneecap offers more to that than behind the surface, and feels perfectly positioned to coincide ahead of the group touring in the UK. They are playing two nights at Kentish Town, but unfortunately, the only venue that isn’t sold out clashes with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Interpol who are also playing in London – yet it’s worth experiencing their maverick lyrics live as someone who saw them at Rock Werchter earlier this year – the mosh pits were the most fun of the whole festival. Thankfully – the film is just about as fun as their mosh pits, which is very high praise.
The film navigates teacher JJ into the orbit of Naoise and Liam when he is called in to become an Irish translator, only to discover that the boys have connections to a wanted Irish fugitive who is their dad. There’s a lot of connections and twists here – think a moment midway through the film when the aunt of one of the boy’s love interest’s identity is revealed echoes the Vulture reveal in Spider-Man: Homecoming, one of that film’s few sincere and shocking moments. The film feels as raw and gritty as something like Trainspotting, arriving with authenticity and a supporting role from Michael Fassbender that really adds a touch of badassary to the film.
It’s about how important language is as a form of expression and it feels incredibly youthful and kinetic right the way through. It doesn’t talk down to kids but shows you how they can get inspired by music and the wild editing style really connects the spirit of this with the mood of the 90s, and the films of the era. The drug-induced sequences and animated set pieces are bold and revolutionary, and the film isn’t afraid to shy away from the reality that young people take drugs without condemning them for doing so. The low budget is maximised to every inch of its life here and the camerawork is constantly fresh and exciting – dramatized and exciting in such a uniquely inspired way it feels like a breath of fresh air in a way that other modern ‘low-life scum’ films like Kingsman: The Secret Service never really did.
One of the most exciting new bands at the moment gives us one of the most exciting new films at the moment and with Northern Ireland submitting it as a foreign language contention for the Oscars, it arrives on the back of films like The Quiet Girl that pave the way for an Irish language renaissance. Calling it “the new Trainspotting” feels cheap almost, but it’s hard to see anything else being as daring.
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