When critics go to movie screenings, it’s rare that they have two on the same night at the same time. Yet I was faced with that dilemma when it came to seeing Kneecap – the true story about an Irish rap group; or I could see a movie that’s about as different as can be – a true story called Widow Clicquot, about the woman in the 1800s that created the champagne industry in France. At the screening of that, they were giving out champagne, yet somehow, we instead went to see Kneecap. And I’m glad we did. It was like “Trainspotting” with rap songs instead of punk. It’s always fun when a music biopic can be done a little differently and still work. This felt like it was Guy Ritchie behind the camera, but it was the first feature by Rich Peppiatt, who wrote and directed (with the real-life rap group playing themselves).
So like The Beastie Boys, this is a rap trio of white dudes. One is a teacher and well-respected. The other two are criminals, but their father (played wonderfully by Michael Fassbender) has taught them the importance of preserving their native Irish language. Who would’ve thought that would be so controversial? This makes the gangsta rap controversies of the early ‘90s seem like nothing. You think the East Coast/West Coast hip-hop rivalry was something, since it left Tupac and Biggie dead. These rappers had to deal with a bit more going on in Belfast.
The guys have just enough charisma and spirit, that have you rooting for them (I think my wife had a harder time with that aspect).
There’s a nice amount of acerbic wit, and lots of energy. The editing and cinematography add to that.
It’s interesting how the respected member of the band (their DJ) first meets one in an interrogation room, and is won over by the lyrics he reads in a notebook. He talks the two guys into going into the studio and spitting out knowledge (as the kids would say).
Fassbender plays a character in the Irish Republican Army who has faked his death. So he shows up on occasion, at interesting times in his son’s life.
This movie is currently in the high 90s on Rotten Tomatoes. It shows its revolutionary ethos in a very entertaining and uplifting way. Yet the drug use, profanity, and antics of these guys might not be for everyone.
3 stars out of 5.