Kneecap (film)

Kneecap is a 2024 comedy-drama film. Written and directed by Rich Peppiatt, the film depicts the rise of Kneecap, an Irish hip-hop trio from Belfast, Northern Ireland. The film stars the band members as themselves, with Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds, Adam Best, Simone Kirby, and Michael Fassbender in supporting roles.
Kneecap premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on 18 January, the first film in the Irish language to do so, where it won the NEXT Audience Award. Its Irish premiere at the 36th edition of the Galway Film Fleadh, won Best Irish Film, the Audience Award and the Irish Language Feature Film Award. The film was released on 2 August 2024 in the United States by Sony Pictures Classics, on 8 August 2024 in Ireland, and in the United Kingdom on 23 August, by Wildcard Distribution and Curzon Film, respectively. It received nominations in six categories at the 78th British Academy Film Awards and was selected as the Irish entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
In the late 2010s, Liam Ó Hannaidh and Naoise Ó Cairealláin are part of the "ceasefire generation" living in the Gaeltacht Quarter of West Belfast. Growing up, they learnt to speak Irish from Naoise's father, Arlo, a former republican paramilitary who faked his own death to evade British authorities. As a result, his wife, Dolores, has become a recluse while Arlo lives in hiding and is disappointed with his son's hedonistic lifestyle and lack of initiative.
One night, Liam is arrested at a drug-laden party. He outrages the police due to his refusal to speak English, insisting he can only communicate verbally in Irish. JJ Ó Dochartaigh, a music teacher at an Irish-language immersion school, arrives to serve as an interpreter during Liam's interrogation. He helps Liam avoid charges and later hides a notebook of Liam's by taking it home himself.
JJ realizes that the notebook contains song lyrics in Irish and is impressed when he sets them to music. He approaches Liam and Naoise with the idea of forming an Irish-language hip-hop group, claiming that the music would be a way to bring the Irish language to Millennials and Generation Z. Meanwhile, Liam begins a relationship with a Protestant girl named Georgia. Liam names the group "Kneecap", after the infamous punitive torture technique common in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
The trio create a track together during an all-night, drug-fueled recording session. They perform live, and their music draws crowds. JJ fears the damage to his teaching career that might result from a public connection with Kneecap's confrontational and blatantly political music. He decides to perform as the anonymous "DJ Próvaí", wearing an Irish tricolour balaclava to hide his face during gigs. He also conceals his involvement in the band from his girlfriend Caitlin, who is heavily involved in the campaign for an Irish Language Act that would officially recognise the Irish language in Northern Ireland.
As Kneecap grow in popularity, they face controversy for promoting anti-social behaviour and outspoken republicanism in their lyrics. A dissident republican organisation calling themselves "Radical Republicans Against Drugs" (RRAD) threaten and attack Liam and Naoise. The garage containing Kneecap's recording studio and their recorded music is bombed, and the group believe RRAD is responsible.
With a tight deadline to produce a new track for RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, the group break into the school where JJ works and record a song overnight. The song is initially banned from the radio due to its lyrical content, but after Dolores organises a protest campaign, the song is allowed to play and becomes a hit. However, with his identity as DJ Próvaí now public, JJ is fired from his teaching job, and Caitlin breaks up with him. With little left to lose, after some hesitation, JJ decides to remain a part of Kneecap.
At a major gig, Kneecap publicly humiliate RRAD by playing an audio recording of its members demanding that Liam and Naoise turn in drug money over to them. In retaliation, an RRAD member in the crowd fires a gun and, in the ensuing chaos, Liam is apprehended and Naoise is captured by the RRAD. Police Service of Northern Ireland Detective Ellis, an Ulster Loyalist and Georgia's aunt, viciously beats Liam before revealing that she arranged for the studio to be bombed in an attempt to halt Kneecap's rise to fame, having previously warned JJ and Dolores of the damage it would bring. Meanwhile, the RRAD prepare to kneecap Naoise when Arlo arrives to torture his son himself. Arlo instead shoots three RRAD members and tells Naoise that he is proud of him and his music. He allows himself to be arrested while Liam is grudgingly released from police custody.
Kneecap's music becomes ever more popular despite the police and Detective Ellis doing everything in their power to stop them. Meanwhile, Caitlin continues her political campaign for the Irish Language Act, Dolores is shown singing in a pub (having overcome her agoraphobia), and Georgia and other students of all ages and backgrounds participate in an Irish language class.
Jack Tarling and Trevor Birney produce for Mother Tongues and Fine Point Films, respectively. Rich Peppiatt wrote and directed the film despite not being an Irish-speaker himself. For Peppiatt, it marks his feature film directing debut having previously directed the music video for the band's single, "Guilty Conscience". The band themselves are cast in the film in their acting debuts. They feature alongside experienced Irish actors such as Michael Fassbender, Josie Walker and Simone Kirby. Principal photography took place on location in Belfast in May 2023.
The film's soundtrack album was released digitally on 30 August 2024, featuring tracks from Kneecap, Bicep, Fontaines D.C., and Orbital, as well as incidental music by Michael "Mikey J" Asante and snippets of dialogue from the film. The album is scheduled to be released on CD and vinyl on 28 February 2025. The film additionally features music from the Prodigy. "Sick in the Head" was shortlisted at the 97th Academy Awards in the category of Best Original Song.
Notes
The film premiered in the Next section at the Sundance Film Festival, the first Irish-language film to do so, on 18 January 2024. Prior to, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights for North and Latin America, Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Middle East to the film. The film is not being shown in Israel as a protest against the ongoing conflict in Palestine. Kneecap, known for their strong pro-Palestinian stance, made this decision to align with their advocacy for Palestinian rights. Sony Pictures Classics later scheduled the film for a theatrical release in the United States on 2 August 2024. The film was also scheduled to be the opening film at Sundance's London edition on 6 June 2024 and was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland in August 2024.
The film has been selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 under the World Cinema section.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 137 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "A rebellious anthem for cultural preservation, Kneecap is as shaggy, rambunctious, and lovable as the eponymous hip hop group at its center." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Carlos Aguilar of Variety gave the film a positive review, writing: "Bursting with unruly energy that practically escapes the confines of the screen, Kneecap is a riotous, drug-laced triumph in the name of freedom that bridges political substance and crowd-pleasing entertainment." PopMatters described it as one of the strongest films from 2024, praising the project's discussion of "class issues" and "use of colour."