In "Kneecap," these three independence rappers play their own roles and it rocks.
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DJ Próvaí, surrounded by Móglaí Bap and Mo Chara, the three rappers from Kneecap. WAYNA PITCH
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Caught in a whirlwind of controversy and legal disputes since their pro-Palestinian remarks at the Coachella festival, the Northern Irish hip-hop combo Kneecap is the subject of an electric biopic, in which each member of the group plays their own role.
They rap, advocate drugs, and are fiercely anti-colonial, in addition to having exotic names: Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh aka Mo Chara, Naoise Ó Cairealláin aka Móglaí Bap, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh aka DJ Próvaí. "Taïaut!" we can already hear Bruno Retailleau yelling. In "Kneecap," the name of their group, these three Irish guys—two ex-dealers, one ex-music teacher—play their own roles as pro-independence rappers, and it rocks. Between "Trainspotting," "8 Mile," and "The Last Pub Before the End of the World," the film is a little bomb.
Typically, a musical biopic celebrates the popularity of a deceased or late-career artist. Hence the "Kneecap" revolution, the first biopic made before the success. Better still: Rich Peppiatt's film took the band out of the underground scene and bars of Belfast, where it was born in 2017, and propelled them into international festivals and 40,000-capacity venues, becoming the biggest box-office hit worldwide…
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