Sundance 2024: ‘Kneecap’ Review
Stars: Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, DJ Próvaí, Michael Fassbender, Simone Kirby | Written and Directed by Rich Peppiatt
Back in 2017, a portion of Ireland’s population was fighting for the Irish language to receive the same legal rights as Scottish and Welsh. At the same time, two young boys crossed paths with an Irish teacher who discovered their knack for writing hip-hop songs in the island’s native language. Risking it all, the trio banded together to form Kneecap, a hip-hop group that re-energised the fight for a new generation.
Not only is the above an apt synopsis of Kneecap, but it’s a description of true events. It might surprise its audience to learn that the leading men of the movie aren’t in fact actors — or even fictional characters — but real rappers reenacting the events that led to them becoming famous. With no formal training or any previous acting experience, Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí each debut astounding performances, tapping into an emotional range most would never even think to associate with their genre of music. On top of this, their chosen self-reflection is a boisterous one, riddled with drugs, tawdry behaviour, and incredibly explicit sex. When asked about this while being interviewed at Sundance, the boys claimed they were “method actors,” which is exactly the sentiment that sums up their film.
This doesn’t mean to say that there aren’t actual actors in Kneecap, though. This certainly isn’t a documentary nor does it have the feel of one, making the post-viewing Google all that much more of a shock. Michael Fassbender and Simone Kirby star as Móglaí Bap’s parents Arlo and Dolores, with Arlo having faked his own death to get the political heat off of his back. It’s a subplot that drifts in and out of the main frame, wavering in how much importance it holds to the trio’s rise to anarchic power. In hindsight, the movie would possibly be improved by removing this emphasis, keeping it instead solely on what makes the film shine — three guys quite literally replaying their own lives.
In real life, it’s difficult to get your kicks in a world that closes in with increasing surveillance and restrictions. In Kneecap, viewers are treated with the rare chance of going absolutely crazy with zero consequences, with our leading trio fully immersing in everything beyond the righteous world of morals and laws. These guys give zero f**ks and it’s echoed in everything they put their minds to — which ultimately leads to their best selves. What’s more is that Kneecap also achieves what many in the film set out to do, which is relate to a younger generation and keep a dying-out culture from completely vanishing.
It’s rough around the edges, but to be completely authentic, Kneecap needs to be exactly that. Sure, none of the group’s members could easily slot into an A24 indie or a play at the Royal Court, but reflecting back on what once was takes courage, and the three of them so do in forensic detail. Presenting new perspectives on issues we still widely considered taboo, it will be a crying shame if Kneecap goes no further than this festival — though with an award win and plenty of word of mouth, why would it?
**** 4/5
Kneecap screened as part of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
