Rich Peppiatt’s debut feature film is a biopic like no other. The film follows the band’s members Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí and the formation of their Irish language hip hop group in West Belfast. From the offset, the audience is made aware that this is not going to be your typical story set in Belfast, which usually litter car bombings and explosions among dialogue.

While we have seen many biopics on musical stars before, with this year’s releases of Back To Black and Bob Marley: One Love, Kneecap shakes up our expectations. The vast majority of biopics are made after the death of an artist or at the end of their career, whereas in Kneecap’s case, they are very much still on the rise, with the release of their debut album only taking place on 14th June of this year. Kneecap have had a strong following in Ireland for several years, and given the press in the leadup to the film’s release, they have garnered many more listeners worldwide, making Fine Art the highest charting Irish language album ever.

“Their stage presence, which they have learned from the music industry, certainly helps them to convey their story in a deep and authentic manner”

The performances are fantastic — the band’s members play themselves, despite having no previous acting experience; their stage presence, which they have learned from the music industry, certainly helps them to convey their story in a deep and authentic manner. The band is joined by Michael Fassbender who plays Móglaí Bap’s dad, a Republican dissident on the run, and, naturally, he delivers a phenomenal performance. Josie Walker who plays detective Ellis is another standout, with her utter contempt for the group coming across very intensely.

The film is shot extremely creatively; in places it matches the high-octane energy levels of the band’s music, through the use of quick cuts and vibrant colours. There is also a very inventive use of claymation, which demonstrates the group’s perception of the world after mistaking ketamine for cocaine. Claymation is atypical for the biopic genre, but Rich Peppiatt is happy to take risks in his first feature film, and they do indeed pay off. The film’s dark humour is very effective –I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much at a film. The quips and sarcasm landed for everyone at the screening I attended: from students to an elderly lady at the film by herself, it was clear that the humour was intergenerationally appealing.

“Many Irish language films tend to treat grave matters in a much more sombre way”

Kneecap uses Irish differently to most Irish language films, but this reflects the biopic’s unique tone. It uses humour to deal with the darker aspects of the subject matter and the history of the island, whereas many Irish language films tend to treat grave matters in a much more sombre way. Arracht (Monster) directed by Tom Sullivan in 2019 discusses ‘the Blight’ which caused the Great Plague, and is an example of this more grave presentation of Irish history. Kneecap bucks the trend of using Irish language in a sombre manner, in an apt parallel to the revolutionary uses of Irish in the band’s own music. The band was drawn into the political sphere during the fight for Irish to become an official language in the North, with some politicians suggesting that, due to the nature of Kneecap’s music, they were corrupting the youth and using the Irish language to do so.

The film’s reception has been overwhelmingly positive, winning the NEXT Audience Award at Sundance (the first Irish language film to do so). It was also selected as the Irish entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at next year’s Oscars. On Letterboxd, Kneecap currently sits at a 4.0 rating, making it the platform’s second highest rated Irish language film, 0.1 behind 2022’s An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl). An Cailín Ciúin is a very different film to Kneecap, as a coming-of-age story; however, similarly to Kneecap, it uses Irish in a unique way. The protagonist, Catherine Clinch’s character of Caít, uses Irish for the vast majority of the film and only switches to English in situations where she is uncomfortable and feels unsafe. Another story that Kneecap covers alongside the band’s formation and rise is the battle for Irish to be made an official language in the North of Ireland, which finally happened in 2022. The representation of Irish and using it in unique ways is a key focus of the group, and as is stated in the film, “A country without a language is half a nation.”

There is currently a resurgence in Irish language films, with the first horror film in Irish An Taibhse (The Ghost) to be released later this year and making its worldwide premiere at Fright Fest this month. It is a very exciting time for Irish language cinema, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Kneecap will be widely available in UK cinemas on 23rd August 2024.