'Kneecap' Inspires Through Humor and Meaningful Music
Humorous and intense. Kneecap is an eye-opening, visceral film that will demand your attention from beginning to end. The movie plays a lot like a Danny Boyle film. The colors are bright, the camera is always moving, and the editing is relentlessly paced. Writer/Director Rich Peppiatt provides a fierce look into the Irish language that doesn't let up, even when the credits roll. It's an impressive exercise in style that can be a bit distracting at times. In order to resemble what the artists are talking about in the movie, often little motion graphic titles will be thrown up on the screen.
For instance, in one scene, a character is saying that he feels like he's drowning. To resemble his words, a little cartoon of splashing water is displayed by the character's head as if the audience didn't know what drowning meant.
However, these cartoons also help strengthen the narrative. When Kneecap is performing a song in Irish, the lyrics are thrown up on the screen in English so the audience can follow what the characters are saying. Kneecap isn't just all about style, though. It's a film about freedom of language when it's trying to be canceled out by its oppressors.
As an Irishman, I'm dissapointed in myself that I don't know about the existence of the Irish language. In Ireland, there's a language spoken there that isn't English. It's close to English but not quite the same thing. In the film, it's simply referred to as Irish. It's one of sixteen Celtic languages that's spoken. In Northern Ireland, the language is not permitted. Why it's not permitted is past my uneducated, feeble brain. But the cause makes sense. People want the freedom to speak the language they are given. By taking away that right, you're taking away an individual's freedom.
Our story's hero isn't one to let such a thing go by slightly. Naoise (Móglaí Bap) was raised to rebel. His father, Arló Ó Cairealláin (Michael Fassbender), was one to fight for the cause to have his native tongue preserved. For battling for his rights, Arló must spend his life estranged from his family, being on the run from the police. Following in his father's footsteps, Naoise rebels against the cops. When we first meet him, he's busted for selling drugs in a nightclub. Soon after being busted, we meet his friend Liam Óg (Mo Charra), who's being interrogated. To throw the police off, he speaks in Irish, so he can't give them anything.
Kneecap (the band) is comprised of three people: Naoise, AKA Móglaí Bap; Liam Óg, AKA Mo Charra; and JJ, AKA DJ Próvai. The three go by rapper names when they're performing their songs as Kneecap in public. Naoise and Liam Óg are childhood friends who one day run into JJ, a music teacher who has a gentle exterior. Of the three, he's the one who works a responsible job, has a girlfriend, and has a home to stay in, while Naoise and Liam Óg are drug dealers who live in the ghetto. So, how do these hoodlums meet up and collaborate with JJ? Well, JJ looks at their lyrics one day and is able to conjure up some disc jockey music to make it work. He sees potential in the boys' anti-establishment Irish Republican themes. The songs just aren't about selling drugs and getting into fights. They're caricatures of what it's like to live in West Belfast.
The songs are a call to action for language to be recognized. It's not just goofy rap music about low riders and girls. Soon, when they're performing, Kneecap begins to take off. They're popular in clubs, and their tunes are played on the radio. But it's not without consequences. The cops aren't fans of Kneecap's music. It sparks protests and damns the authorities who abuse their citizens. The music is raw. It doesn't play nice and gets you moving. Probably the music is so good because it's based on a real band.
Kneecap stars its real rappers. For rappers turned actors, the performances aren't bad. They're nothing to write home about. Nobody is crying, and there aren't many scenes that require a great deal of emotional weight. Mostly, they just have to act angry. The one rapper who shows the most amount of emotion is DJ Próvai. Próvai plays the guy who is reluctant to leave his comfortable life but takes a chance on the Kneecappers so he can freely speak his voice. As a guy who in real life never shows his face, Próvai has a soft demeanor that you wouldn't expect from him. Próvai provides an amount of sensitivity that's a welcoming mix amongst the angsty hoodlums that drive the film.
The real emotional anchor of the film is Naoise's father, Arló. Michael Fassbender's performance as Arló is stiff but caring. Fassbender plays the rebellious father who influenced his son through his actions to create music that would inspire many. Although distant, Arló fights for a cause. Fassbender's stern face displays a missing parent who's intimidating while also being affectionate. His story arc is something I would have liked to have seen a little more of. He's such a fascinating character I could have seen a movie on his character alone.
Kneecap is a film about a hip-hop band, co-written by and starring the band. It could have easily become a hollow commercial for Kneecap. Thankfully, this movie is so much more than that. It's a call to action without resorting to violence. It's about how a band uses offensive language to draw attention to their cause by using shock value.
Sometimes, shock value can have a positive impact. We've seen it in cinema before. Films like Gaspar Noé's Irreversible disgusts you but makes you think about the actual horror of violence instead of the glorification of it we often see in cinema. Oliver Stone's JFK graphically reenacts John Kennedy's assassination, even showing his brains in the morgue. It's not disturbing for the sake of being disturbing; it's to capture the panic the American public felt at the time. The shock value of these films inspires conversations about them. Kneecap's music draws a discourse about the authorities who harm their citizens instead of protecting them. The music spurs the masses to fight so they can keep their language. Not only that, but at the end of the film, it gets results. Rich Peppiatt's Kneecap is a gritty yet uplifting film that will motivate you even if you don't like hip-hop.
Kneecap opens in theaters nationwide August 2nd
