The Beastie Boyos — Kneecap
A little more than 20 years ago, rap superstar Eminem starred in 8 Mile, a semi-autobiographical look at his rise to the top of the hip hop world, focusing on his upbringing, broken household, and unwavering zeal to make a better life for himself. In addition to being a commercial and critical success, the film resulted in what is to this day my favorite moment in Oscars history, the look of utter terror on Barbra Streisand’s face when she was presenting Original Song and had to announce that Eminem had won an Academy Award. Marshall Mathers himself didn’t show up to perform, as he was certain he wouldn’t win, making “Lose Yourself” the only nominee that year not to be part of the ceremony. Years later he got another chance to stand on the Oscar stage and have his moment, one that he relished with gratitude.
You would be forgiven for thinking that Kneecap, the new film about the titular rap trio, might follow a similar formula, but thankfully, these are two distinct pictures that just happen to have a common root for the plot. Whereas 8 Mile was a very personal story about Mathers’ situation and ability to put his talents to proper use, Kneecap aspires to something a bit more grand, emphasizing the fun of the artform while also injecting a healthy amount of national pride, positing itself and the band as microcosms of the revolutionary spirit that is part and parcel with the Irish identity. It’s because of this ambition that the movie became the first Irish language entry to screen at Sundance back in January (where it won an audience prize), and is now first out of the gate for next year’s Oscar race for International Feature, officially submitted for Ireland last week (Austria and Latvia have since joined the fray).
Naoise Ó Cairealláin and Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, known by the stage names Móglaí Bap (Mesh Bop) and Mo Chara (My Friend) respectively, grew up as childhood friends in what’s known as the “ceasefire generation,” meaning they came of age in Belfast after The Troubles. In a time of uneasy peace in Northern Ireland, Naoise and Liam learn traditional Irish Gaelic from Naoise’s father, Arlo (Michael Fassbender) a now displaced radical who fakes his own death and goes into public hiding in order to stoke the revolutionary fires from the fugitive shadows. As a lesson in civic pride, he instills the value in the boys that every word spoken in Irish is a “bullet fired for Irish freedom,” a simple but powerful exercise in civil disobedience.
Sadly, with no other real influence in their lives (Naiose’s mother Dolores, played by Simone Kirby, becomes a shut-in, and we never learn anything about Liam’s parents), the boys become your run-of-the-mill delinquent hoodlums, going to raves on a near-nightly basis and using the dark web to sell drugs. At one such party, Liam is arrested, refusing to answer any questions from the police detective (Josie Walker) given in English.
This all takes place at a time when there’s a groundswell of support to legitimize the Irish language in the United Kingdom. The other constituent countries have their native tongues officially recognized — Scottish and Welsh — but not Irish, and local and national Parliament scoff at the suggestion because so few speak it. As such, the Garda enlist the help of JJ Ó Dochartaigh, a music teacher at an Irish-language high school, who also happens to be dating one of the leaders of Irish Language Act movement (Fionnuala Flaherty). Seeing Liam’s protest in person, JJ sides with the boy and helps him get released, as well as nicking back a journal that had been confiscated. Inside are pages upon pages of lyrics, all written in Gaelic, that JJ is able to set to looped beats.
From that moment, Kneecap is born. In true Belfast fashion, the group takes its name from the practice of “kneecapping” that goes on in the streets, where rival gangs and individual thugs will beat — or even shoot — each other in the knee, so as to make their point without causing fatal injury. With JJ’s encouragement, Liam and Naoise hone their lyrics and performance style, speaking truth to power through their life experience caught in the middle of civilization and anarchy. For JJ, the group provides him an outlet to help the Irish language reach a new generation and renew enthusiasm for it. However, his involvement puts his job and his relationship in jeopardy, so he dons a balaclava holding the colors of the Irish flag and takes the name DJ Próvaí, which is a reference to his educational background, as “próvaí” directly translates as “tests.”
At this point, the film treads fairly familiar musical biopic territory. Detective Ellis wishes to expose the group and shut them down by any means necessary because she finds rap music to be a public nuisance. Arlo denigrates his son’s activities because in his eyes he’s not “making anything of himself.” A paramilitary group (led by Adam Best) threatens them because of their involvement with drugs, which they feel delegitimizes their radical republican agenda. Liam, a proud Irish Catholic, has a torrid affair with a Protestant named Georgia (Jessica Reynolds) that makes him question his ideals. We’ve seen all this stuff before.
But where Kneecap separates itself is in the moments where it’s very much NOT a music biopic. We don’t get the tired third act conflict cliché that temporarily breaks up the group. There’s a brief aside where JJ decides to leave for his own personal safety, but it’s quickly resolved and has no real bearing on the plot. There’s no “let’s take it three times before we get it right” rehearsal bit. They just go into the music, settle on a rhythm, and spit it (and these tracks are pretty fuckin’ dope if you ask me), with the mixture of English and Irish flowing perfectly, and the frenetic animation of the translations flitting about the screen in a maelstrom of lightly-controlled melodic chaos. Even the opening narration isn’t about some sort of profound lesson about Irish history, but of a messed up raid on Naoise’s baptism in the woods (complete with a photo during the end credits that shows this was an actual event).
In all aspects of the story, the point is about finding an identity. So many movies in this genre are about artists and performers who already know who they are. This is about a group that didn’t, because they were raised in an environment that was still figuring itself out. Liam and Noaise didn’t live through the worst of The Troubles, but the aftermath when everyone was picking up the pieces and wondering where to go next. There’s no Van Morrison to guide them, especially if you’re not into rock music. So they had to forge their own drug-addled path, finding their niches as they went. The fact that this is all done with a healthy dose of Irish pride balanced perfectly with abject silliness makes for a truly charming and memorable origin story, even if it’s all bollocks.
Grade: A-
Join the conversation in the comments below! What film should I review next? Are you psyched for next year’s International Feature competition? Do you vibe to rap music in other languages? Let me know! And remember, you can follow me on Twitter (fuck “X”) and YouTube for even more content, and check out the entire BTRP Media Network at btrpmedia.com!
Originally published at http://actuallypaid.com on August 13, 2024.
