“Across the globe, an indigenous language dies every 40 days.”

Story: Three lads in West Belfast decide to come together and make music. What could be the problem? Well, they plan on rapping in Irish Language (aka Gaelic, for folks here in the States), and in the 2010’s? Irish as a language wasn’t fully recognized by Ireland’s British overlords. Oh, and the lads are heavy into musical language that’d make their USA counterparts get stuck with an Explicit Lyrics sticker. But live venues hold the key to their music, and perhaps even a rebirth of their beloved language.

Genre I’d put it in: Rockin’, Rappin’, Renegade Biopics
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on the band of the same name

Gotta say: Irish rappers that focus on their language, and their lives? I saw the teaser for Kneecap awhile back, and I made a note to check this one out. So when a screener hit my inbox, I grabbed it with both hands. And it’s a damn fun time. Just like the band itself, Kneecap the movie serves up lessons you’ll want to learn.

This film is obviously a fictionalized telling of how the band got started, and the history surrounding Northern Ireland in the late 2010’s. But the fun part is that the real band members play themselves. Liam Óg “Mo Chara” Ó Hannaidh, Naoise “Móglaí Bap” Ó Cairealláin, and JJ “DJ Próvaí” Ó Dochartaigh all deliver performances that are wonderfully nuanced, which is something that’s surprisingly rare. Typically, folks playing themselves can’t deliver onscreen performances worth watching, which is strange; how can you whiff playing yourself? Still, it can happen. But here, these lads are all in, and their charisma jumps off the screen, as the emotional weight of their story unspools.

The three band members are surrounded by seasoned actors, which probably aids in the lads’ performances. Gotta keep up with Michael Fassbender and Josie Walker, y’know? As an ensemble, the cast works well together, and the sincere, heartfelt character portrayals are absolute dynamite. Special shout-out to Jessica Reynolds as Georgia, a young Unionist whose relationship with Mo Chara is both hilarious and an honest look at Unionist/Nationalist…relations.

Oh, and special-special shout-out to the fine folks in charge of special effects and VFX. There’s bits of drawn-on animation here and there in the film, especially when the Irish language is spoken, or music is being played. That sets viewers up for animated lyrics that appear when the band begins to rap. Which is nice, as I don’t speak Irish myself, and even if I did? These lads drop beats so fast, I was really glad to have onscreen lyrics as a crutch. By-the-way, this film is around 80% Irish language, so be prepared to read subtitles. Don’t make that face; like y’all don’t pop on the subs every time a BBC show hits your eyeparts. I see you. I SEE EVERYTHING. (Okay, not everything. Ew. Keep that to yourself.)

Kneecap can be easily described as “Derry Girls from the other side of the fence”, and while that’s a quick pitch, it’s more than that. This film is rougher, more realistic, and shows us that even after The Troubles, there’s still a lot of work to be done for Ireland to come together. Hmm. That’s kind of the same vibe we’ve got going on here in the States. Hopefully music can help soothe us all. Hey; a solid bass drop and badass lyrics can be soothing. Hell yeah it can.

#Protip: Kneecap wraps up with clips from the band’s performances, circa 2021-2017, and those shows look like an absolute blast. Wanna hear more from these lads? Yeah you do. Here.