By: Trevor Chartrand

Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap takes a fresh take on music biopics – a welcome approach to an otherwise tired genre. Unapologetically grimy and raw, music is the beating heart of this surprising and enticing gem.  

The movie chronicles the dramaticized origin of Kneecap, the titular hip-hop band from Northern Ireland. Comprised of Irish rappers Naoise Ó Cairealláin (stage name: Móglaí Bap), Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh (Mo Chara) and their mixer JJ Ó Dochartaigh (DJ Próvai), the performers each play themselves in the film. 

True to the band’s values, there’s more to this movie than just the music – the film demonstrates Kneecap’s passion for cultural preservation. Notably, the band performs in their native Irish tongue, an endangered language rarely spoken or acknowledged. In protest, their Irish raps exemplify the poetic nature of their language while also preserving and resuscitating it. 

The Kneecap trio may not be experienced actors, but they all ooze on-screen charisma throughout the film. To their credit, there’s a real-life chemistry between them that heightens their performances overall. 

Kneecap features a bit of everything, without wavering in tone. It’s quite the balancing act: juggling family drama, romance, crime and politics all at once. To keep up the pace, the film is shot like a relentless action movie (2006’s Crank comes to mind). To top it all off, Peppiatt’s movie is also a comedy. Watching the mild-mannered JJ Ó Dochartaigh unravel from meek school teacher to wild, party-animal DJ is especially hilarious.

Kneecap has a lot to say – and the musicians are not ashamed to say it – as the film sheds layer after layer. That’s if you can understand what they’re saying, of course. Be prepared for very thick Irish accents. While the Irish language is subtitled (rap lyrics superimposed as well), the characters speaking English can be, ironically, difficult to comprehend. This may deter anyone without an ear for accents, but I hope it doesn’t. This is not a criticism against Kneecap’s dialect – it’s essentially the point of the movie. The band is unapologetic for who they are and where they come from. If anything, an audience who needs to listen carefully is going to pay better attention anyway. 

Overall, Kneecap is an ambitious movie with a ‘screw-off,’ punk-rock attitude towards cultural oppression. The theme may hit a little too on-the-nose, but it’s commendable to actually have a message in a world full of ‘here’s-how-we-wrote-this-song’ biopics. Pappiatt expertly avoids genre pratfalls in favour of telling a uniquely wacky story that may or may not be grounded in reality.

Kneecap is a fast-paced flick full of style and grit, with a wicked soundtrack to boot.

**********

Do You Tweet? Follow These Tweeple:

Trevor Chartrand: @OhHaiTrebor