Review: Kneecap | Redbrick Film [Video]

Kneecap, directed by Rich Peppiatt, centres around the real-life story of the eponymous Northern Irish hip-hop group. It is a dedicated passion project in which the band members star as themselves, with surprisingly effective results.

The story focuses on Liam ó Hannaidh and Naoise ó Cairealláin, who music teacher JJ Ó Dochartaigh discovers after he reads their notebook containing Irish rap lyrics. The resulting musical collaboration kickstarts a movement that looks to rehabilitate the Irish language back into popular culture and send a political message to the rest of Britain via their rave-style hip-hop. The plot feels lively and heartwarming as an underdog story with some hilarity sprinkled in. Even though the structure is predictable and follows a standard rise-dilemma-resolution format, the film makes as much of an …