If you haven’t heard of Rich Peppiatt’s newest feature, Kneecap, it’s because it flew so under the radar for everyone and its theatrical window was relatively short. However, it has now hit home release on DVD only, but don’t be fooled by the purple backing on the disk, it does appear this is printed on a DVD-R, so rest assured that it’s not a bootleg someone swapped at the distribution house. It is in fact printed that way. If you have no idea what the movie is about, it’s a relatively paint-by-the-numbers movie about cultural identity that is based on facts but isn’t explosive or anything enriched in travesty or devastation. It’s more just fighting for cultural representation grounded by some great performances and a killer soundtrack.
L-R: Naoise Ó Cairealláin as Móglaí Bap/Naoise and Michael Fassbender as Arló Ó Cairealláin in KNEECAP. Photo credit: Helen Sloan. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
The movie focuses on Naoise and Liam (Móglaí Bap and Mo Chara, respectively) as they’re trying to ensure that their national Irish language doesn’t disappear. They’re rappers but the law is against them and does not want to allow them to speak in Irish, something that was drilled into Naoise at a young age by his father Arló (Michael Fassbender). However, Arló had to disappear and fake his own death to protect himself and ensure his victory against “the occupiers” as he puts it. Liam gets caught by the feds for a crime (not something entirely important) and refuses to speak English, so they bring in JJ (DJ Próvaí) to translate from English to Irish. At first, he’s reluctant and doesn’t entirely understand why he is there, but when he realizes Liam is a musician and an Irish language activist, he decides to help him and wants to produce their music. Together, the three of them create the rap group Kneecap, and the rest is, as they say, history. This is a real rap group who performs and the actors are the actual band members. They face a lot of adversity, especially from a group called Radical Republicans Against Drugs, but they push through and demand their voices and concerns get heard.
L-R: Naoise Ó Cairealláin as Móglaí Bap/Naoise, JJ Ó Dochartaigh as DJ Próvai/JJ, and Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh as Mo Chara/Liam Óg in KNEECAP. Photo Credit: Ryan Kernaghan. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
What makes Kneecap work is the brilliant screenplay by Rich Peppiatt, DJ Próvaí, Móglaí Bap, and Mo Chara. They wanted to ensure their story was told and told correctly. Whether some of this be fictionalized or not (not clear how much is reality as it doesn’t distinguish, but there is absolutely truth to the story), it is a captivating story about refusing to lay down and give up cultural representation and respect. They fought for the right to make Irish an official recognized language and the end credits state whether they were successful (if you know recent history, you’ll already know, but alas not going to spoil here, either). The cast are all excellent, and considering this is all their first roles, it truly speaks to how important and vital this story is for them to not only tell it in their own words, but to also decide to act in the feature to ensure it is handled with respect and accuracy. Truly, Kneecap is the underdog story that needs to be seen and, with this home release, there is no better time to do so.
L-R: Naoise Ó Cairealláin as Móglaí Bap/Naoise, JJ Ó Dochartaigh as DJ Próvai/JJ, and Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh as Mo Chara/Liam Óg in KNEECAP. Photo Credit: Helen Sloan. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
As previously mentioned, the only physical release Kneecap received was a DVD-R. So, with that in mind, the special features do not exist. There is the theatrical trailer, but other than that there is nothing past the feature and language choices. With the theme and movie itself, the DVD-R could be chalked up to being like a CD one would get handed walking down the street past an up-and-coming musician, or at least we can pretend it is that way. While DVD is not the greatest quality, it upscales relatively nicely on a 4K player and certainly doesn’t look like 720 p on an old CRTV. Regardless, Kneecap is a fantastic watch, even if the story feels like something we’ve seen before, but the underdog story is always a captivating one, and with a funny script and wonderful performances from the real life rap group, Kneecap is certainly a hit.
Available on DVD October 8th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Sony Pictures Classics Kneecap webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
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