Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. Kneecap, the music-fueled biopic named for the Irish hip-hop trio on which it centers, spins a tale that is at times so outrageous you might suspect poetic liberties have been taken. But the film itself embraces the blurring of fact and feeling to deliver a propulsive and political romp that rejects the austere approach of so many indulgent Oscar-chasing biopics. And thank God and all the saints for that!
Too often, larger-than-life rock stars or pop divas or legendary musicians are reduced by a color-by-numbers approach that fails to capture exactly why they were so enthralling to begin with. (For recent examples, see Elvis, Back to Black, and One Love — or don’t.) However, Kneecap embraces the raw and reckless energy of Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh, who perform under the stage names Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Próvaí. So, early on, a sprawling club scene with flashing lights and hard drug-taking spills into a dark, forbidding forest — not nearby, but connected — as the police (or “peelers,” as the boys call them) chase them down.
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By collapsing the set of a nightclub into a forest that seems plucked out of nightmarish fantasy, director/writer Richard Peppiatt swiftly establishes that Kneecap won’t play by the rules. Hand-drawn graphics burst onto the screen, emphasizing motions and odd analogies. Claymation will be employed to illustrate the mind-bending effects of an ill-timed ketamine trip. And alongside the band, who play themselves in the film, two-time Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender strides onscreen to bring a bit of surreal grit.
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