What is Kneecap about?
Kneecap is a politically-charged movie that transforms the hip hop band’s mission of promoting Irish identity into a full-blown narrative. It’s not just a traditional biopic that tells the story of Kneecap’s origins. It’s a pointed civil rights piece that conveys the importance of indigenous languages and the need to do more than simply preserve. Even something as ancient as Irish/Gaelic can feel modern and alive. Somewhat ironically, Kneecap also looks to move on from the past. It doesn’t want The Troubles to define the next few generations of Northern Ireland forever. There are other topics, other concerns, other fights that deserve artistic attention. The present and future need and deserve representation in music, in film, etc.
Cast
- Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh/Mo Chara – himself
- Naoise Ó Cairealláin/Móglaí Bap – himself
- JJ Ó Dochartaigh/DJ Próval – himself
- Dolores Ó Cairealláin – Simone Kirby
- Arlo Ó Cairealláin – Michael Fassbender
- Georgina – Jessica Reynolds
- Detective Ellis – Josie Walker
- Caitlin – Fionnuala Flaherty
- Doyle – Adam Best
- Written by – Rich Peppiatt | Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh | Naoise Ó Cairealláin | JJ Ó Dochartaigh
- Directed by – Rich Peppiatt
How to understand Kneecap
This is about the present, not the past
Kneecap opens with a voiceover from Liam. “You know what? Every f***ing story about Belfast starts like this” and then it shows flashes from The Troubles, the political conflict between nationalists and unionists that has defined Belfastian culture for decades, specifically visuals of violence and paramilitarism. Then Liam says “But not this one.”
Right away, Kneecap takes a position that distances the film from not only Belfast’s past but also its cinematic peers. Kneecap isn’t a reckoning with history. Rather, it emphasizes Northern Ireland’s present and future.
A baptism interrupted
After Kneecap establishes its emphasis on “When” it does the same for “What” and “Who”. Liam describes the baptism of his best friend Naoise, so many years ago, and how it took place out in the woods because Naoise dad, Arlo, wanted it at this place that served as a “tribute to the Irish Catholics who, just a few generations ago, gave the middle finger to British rule by sneaking here to practice their own religion and speak their own language. Except the peelers thought they had gone and uncovered themselves an IRA training camp. So on the day wee-baby Naoise was supposed to be taken by the latter-Christ, instead, he got the full beams of an RUC chopper.” (RUC = Royal Ulster Constabulary = state police).
So Naoise’s baptism wasn’t in religion but in this conflict between Northern Irish heritage and Britain’s policing of the culture. This becomes symbolic for Naoise, Liam, and JJ’s generation as a whole. They’ve all been trying to live their Northern Irish lives only for British rule to interfere.
The Irish textbook is boring and bad
When we first meet JJ, he’s teaching a class on Gaelic (Irish), but the textbook examples are rooted in boring, bygone descriptions of farming. After class, JJ appeals to one of the school’s higher ups, saying they need to get new textbooks. The man responds that these are the new textbooks.
This scene does three things. First, remember how Kneecap starts? It rejects being yet another movie that focuses on Northern Ireland’s past. It wants to emphasize the presence. The scene with JJ reinforces this idea that the past is boring and the people deserve something updated and fresh.
Second, it emphasizes the film’s concern with language, particularly the problem of kids not speaking Irish. And how the current system is ill-suited to stir up the necessary interest to make learning the language meaningful.
Third, it creates a problem and thus an opportunity for a “hero” to solve the problem. In this case, the problem is that learning Irish is boring. Which makes it a niche rather than a movement. How do you make Irish exciting? How do you give the youth a reason to not only learn it but identify with it?
Language and nations
Two important lines here. The first is “A country without a language is only half a nation.” Second is “Stories are built from language. Nations are built from stories. This is our story.”
These moments of dialogue, and many more throughout Kneecap, tie together the film’s story. Kneecap cares about the culture of present day Northern Ireland and how so much has been lost to English influence. Reclaiming what’s truly Irish starts with the language. What Kneecap, the music group, does isn’t simply rapping. It’s a cultural awakening. The movie makes that clear, over and over again. So we aren’t just rooting for these kids to become famous because we like them. We’re rooting for colonized people to take back their identity.
The Michael Fassbender of it all
Fassbender’s Arlo character ties back to the theme of past versus present. He comes from the era of The Troubles. And believes himself the source of a movement, that his being on the run creates a meaningful disruption to the British occupation. In his mind, he’s made this grand, noble sacrifice for the good of Northern Ireland. In reality, he’s simply abandoned his family. And inspired awful people like the Radical Republicans Against Drugs.
Arlo is firmly the past and represents the way those from that era overestimate their own worth in the present. The point of his character is to give approval to Naoise, to pass the torch, and say, “You’re right, son. I’m not the one fighting anymore. You are. You got this.” Which is ultimately a very political thing. Because the movie is essentially asking older people who may have disapproved of Kneecap—not the movie version but the actual, real-world group—to recognize the intentions of the band and accept their dedication to the cause. And if those older folks can’t accept, at least get the f*** out of the way.
I think that’s part of why Fassbender turns himself in. As long as he was on the loose, the police would bring extra pressure on Naoise. So turning himself in clears the way for Naoise to not have to pay for the sins of his father, even though he’ll stir up plenty of controversy on his own. On the symbolic level, it’s simply embodying how the older generation can let the next generation lead the fight now.
Each character has a different struggle
Kneecap gives each of its main characters a different piece of the puzzle.
Naoise’s story is about his relationship with his father, who represents the previous generation’s methodology and ideas on politics. It’s not just Arlo but also the guys of RRAD who cite Arlo as inspiration. So Naoise’s arc is very much concerned with Belfastian past and present.
Liam’s story is less internal than Naoise and focuses, instead, externally, on the Britain of it all. He goes up against the police (government figures, meaning they tie back to England), initiates a fight with a loyalist marching band, then has a relationship with a Protestant girl (someone descended from British settlers).
JJ’s story is about day-to-day Irish life. Before Kneecap, he’s unhappy with how things are. His life isn’t bad but it is stale. After Kneecap, he’s happy again. Inspired and inspiring, motivated and motivating. That doesn’t come free. He loses his job. Loses his relationship with Caitlin. Loses the life he had built. But he finds something much more fulfilling.
For all three, connecting to their Irish heritage is part of solving their problems. Naoise gains his father’s respect. Liam essentially falls in love with a part of Irish culture he had been ignorant of/actively rejecting. And JJ embodies that idea that “a country without a language is only half a nation.” His life gained dimensionality as soon as he brought Irish language and culture into it in a meaningful way rather than simply an academic one.
The meaning of Kneecap’s ending
Kneecap’s ending accomplishes a few things. It emphasizes that a new era of Irish identity is in full-swing. That culture is a good thing, a cool thing, a meaningful, empowering thing to embrace.
The end of Kneecap also advocates for moving on from violence. Arlo has that line about how “Every word of Irish spoken is a bullet fired for Irish freedom.” It sounds cool. But it’s part of the whole vicious attitude that defined The Troubles. At the end, Liam rejects that. Saying: Every word spoken is a bullet. I reckon everyone’s fired enough bullets by now, ‘for the need (?) to be shooting any metaphorical ones. Maybe not firing the bullet should be the bullet…. I mean, we didn’t set out to be bullets. Or guns. But when did bullets ever set out to be bullets? They just are. Waiting. Hoping. To be unleashed into the world. To find [?] their velocity. We’d found our velocity.
We hear, for the second time in the film, the refrain of “Stories are built from language. Nations are built from stories. This is our story.” That repetition codifies the idea of stories, language, and nations as Kneecap‘s main thrust. And it being the “final” words means it’s the thing you should remember, if nothing else, after the credits roll.
Dolores singing an old Irish ditty with people in a bar is a payoff for her character. She’s done being sad and ready to go live life again. And she reconnects with the world, with herself, with her community, through language and music. Traditionally so. Which sets up the juxtaposition with Kneecap. The guys are doing the same thing—playing Irish music with people. Just in a more modern way. That’s why we get that final concert. We know, having watched the movie, that it’s not just a concert. It’s a civil rights movement.
That’s does it!
Hopefully you feel more informed about Kneecap! Let’s get on to some more general questions and conversations.
Is Kneecap based on a true story?
It’s inspired by. For example, the first scene with adult Naoise and Liam has them at a club that the police bust. Naoise runs away. But Liam’s arrested. In real life, Naoise was out spray-painting with a friend, not Liam, and the cops chased them. Naoise got away, friend got picked up. But did what we see in the movie—would only speak Irish, not English, and forced the cops to bring in an interpreter.
So they worked that into the movie. Same thing with the radio station banning a Kneecap song. It happened. They just reimagined it for the movie. DJ Próvaí really did moon people with “Brits Out” written on his butt. And he was a teacher!
As far as I can tell, Naoise’s father wasn’t in hiding as part of an undying political rebellion. That seems fictionalized for the film.
Naoise did tell Vulture that the start of the movie is real. I was baptized on a Mass Rock, if you’ve heard of them. A Mass Rock is an altar deep in the forest, away from civilization, where the Catholics would say Mass when Catholicism was outlawed in the 18th century. It was the first Mass that was said at this Mass Rock for 200 years. It was in a republican area, and when we were walking in with the priest, a British Army helicopter saw us. They thought they’d uncovered themselves an IRA training camp. Must have been a very weird IRA training camp.
Why wouldn’t Naoise’s mom leave the house?
She was depressed after Arlo left and had let that define her life. Seemingly for years.
How old are Liam, Naoise, and JJ?
27, 30, and 36 (as of 2024)
Did Arlo have any ties to the RRAD?
The leader of RRAD said that Arlo inspired him. But Arlo wasn’t part of the group. At the end, when Arlo kneecaps them, he also points out that Doyle’s other two guys were actually undercover British operatives. So we see Arlo prove his own status as a dissident while essentially physically and spiritually emasculating Doyle. Which positions the RRAD guys as a bunch of posers who are trying to cling to the old days but actually couldn’t keep up with someone who was really part of the scene. It’s like a kid from Long Island who pretends he has mob ties then actually runs into someone who works for the mob.
What is kneecapping?
It was a big thing from The Troubles. The paramilitary groups were essentially judge, jury, and executioner. And they would legitimately shoot people in the kneecaps. Even the elbows and/or ankles. It became a kind of scarlet letter. You saw someone with a limp, and you knew they had done something bad, at least in the eyes of the local enforcers.
Wikipedia actually has medical outlooks on the injury, reporting things like “one out of five victims will walk with a limp for the rest of their lives.” And that “thirteen people had their legs amputated.” Apparently 2,500 people suffered kneecappings. Crazy.
How popular are Kneecap?
As of August 2024, Spotify shows Kneecap has 227,195 monthly listeners. So not crazy popular, yet. But that’s pretty good for Gaelic rappers. Their song “Get Your Brits Out” has 3.8 million plays. On Youtube, the video for “C.E.A.R.T.A.” has 1.2 million views.
