TL;DR – Sex, drugs, and rap, with a dash of politics, violence, and only one reference to the Pope

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film

Kneecap Review –

Today, I start the process of catching up on all the films of 2024 that I missed on the first release, and the first one off the bat is a film out of Northern Ireland or the North of Ireland, depending on your perspective. I was drawn to this film because it is about the Irish language, which should be a part of my heritage, given my ancestry, but it is a gap that I want to explore today.

So, to set the scene, in the tumultuous world of Northern Ireland, contestation of politics can be everywhere, even in language. It is here where so-called ceasefire babies grew up. In this world lives Naoise “Móglaí Bap” Ó Cairealláin (Naoise “Móglaí Bap” Ó Cairealláin), Liam Óg “Mo Chara” Ó Hannaidh (Liam Óg “Mo Chara” Ó Hannaidh), and JJ “DJ Próvaí” Ó Dochartaigh (JJ “DJ Próvaí” Ó Dochartaigh). They are dealing with a multitude of issues, like Naoise’s father, Arlo (Michael Fassbender), living undercover after faking his death. In the shadows of the Irish Language Act debate, the three find themselves coming together for a drug-filled night of music-making. Where they discover a way to bring the Irish language to a new generation.

There have been a lot of biopics that have used the actual people rather than substituting an actor, and they can be a bit hit-and-miss. Here, I think it works most of the time because they bring a frantic energy to the film that matches the intensity that they were aiming for. Also, because at the heart of the movie are the musical performances, and this is clearly the area where they are the most comfortable. This is a film that goes to 100 miles an hour and pretty much stays there for the entire run time. Which means it is full of language, drugs, sex, violence, and everything else and much like the Kneecap’s music, it means this film is not going to be for everyone.

One of the many things that I found interesting about this movie was the stylistic choices that they made. For example, what will and will not be subtitled. There is also a playfulness with the audience at times, which you see in the musical performances and also in moments like when they fast-forward through a beating. These more playful moments help balance some of the deep political themes that we are exploring here, such as identity, language, self-determination, occupation, persecution, and the façade of politeness hiding the snobbery of old people. I am not sure the balance is always there, but they do perfectly lampoon the splinter, of a splinter, of a splinter.

In the end, do we recommend Kneecap? If any of the themes of the film, Irish language, rap music, or history of occupation, interest you, then yes, we would. The fact that much of the film is not subtitled will probably be a barrier for many people, but you can mostly follow along with what is happening. Have you watched Kneecap? Then let us know what you thought in the comments below.If you liked Kneecap, we would recommend to you Rocketman.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Kneecap
Directed by – Rich Peppiatt
Screenplay by – Rich Peppiatt
Story by – Rich Peppiatt, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin & JJ Ó Dochartaigh
Music by – Michael “Mikey J” Asante
Cinematography by – Ryan Kernaghan
Edited by – Julian Ulrichs & Chris Gill
Production/Distribution Companies – BFI, Fine Point Films, Mother Tongues Films, TG4, Northern Ireland Screen’s Irish Language Broadcast Fund and Screen Fund, Coimisiún na Meán, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, Great Point Media, Wildcard Distribution & Madman
Starring – Liam Óg “Mo Chara” Ó Hannaidh, Naoise “Móglaí Bap” Ó Cairealláin, JJ “DJ Próvaí” Ó Dochartaigh, Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds, Adam Best, Simone Kirby & Michael Fassbender with Matthew Sharpe, Cathal Mercer Donagh Deeney, Marty Maguire, Saorlaoith Brady, Aidan McCaughey, Cillian Kernan & Gerry Adams
Rating – Australia: MA15+; Canada: 14A; Germany: 16; New Zealand: R; United Kingdom: 18; United States: R