You don’t have enough Irish hip hop in your life. That’s just a simple fact. But luckily, Netflix has added the most interesting and unique music biopic of the year to fill that void for you.
Kneecap follows the semi-mythical origins of the Irish-language rap group of the same name. The film opens with two teenagers, Liam and Naoise, living in Belfast in late 2010. Naoise’s father, Arlo (Michael Fassbender), a former IRA member in hiding, taught the boys Irish at an early age, but although he did it to maintain some sense of national identity in the boys, they mostly use it to hold it. to any authority they can find. Somewhere in the middle of all their teenage scandals, they run into a music teacher named JJ, who discovers that Liam is writing songs and suggests that the three of them should form a hip-hop group.
Kneecap speeds through most of this origin story with some hilarious dialogue and excellent performances from the main trio, all real band members portraying themselves. But true Kneecap what really shines is once the group starts performing shows. When they are on stage, the film almost turns into a concert film. The trio is absolutely electric during their performances, making it easy to see how Kneecap would catch on in real life. The music itself is loud, punky and propulsive, and director Rich Peppiatt captures the distinct natural stage presence of all three members, perfectly translating the kinetic momentum and energetic frenzy of their concerts to the screen.
While it’s no surprise that the film’s musical sequences are incredible, the most amazing thing about casting the real musicians is that they can also act. The performances are surprisingly nuanced and incredibly effective, yet avoid the sappy sentimentality that sometimes infects more traditional music biopics. It also helps avoid this kind of cloying adoration for the film’s subjects Kneecap is also about more than just the group. As the film makes clear, part of the reason the trio formed Kneecap was in response to the disappearance of Irish-speaking culture. The film carefully underlines why exactly this matters, and how Kneecap himself has contributed to a small revitalization of the language, which makes both the film and the group even more impressive.
Frankly, any of these elements, from the excellent acting to the fantastic musical performances to the fascinating points about Irish culture, would have been enough to Kneecap worth watching on Netflix. But all in all, it makes for not only a great film, but one of the most impressive and unique films of the entire year.
Kneecap is now streaming on Netflix.