One of the best films released this year has just been made available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
Following one of the most subversive musical acts to emerge in the last decade, the musical thriller takes a uniquely comedic and daring look at conflicts in Northern Ireland.
Starring the musicians in question playing themselves, this future Irish classic is brimming with rave-ready tracks, riotous laughs and plenty of bad behaviour.
Subscribers can now stream the film at no extra cost and it’s a must-watch for anyone who’s a fan of bold new music, riveting crime films and moving dramas.
We’re talking about Kneecap, an underseen gem from this year which nevertheless packs a punch and deserves to be seen by as many as possible.
Irish rappers Liam Óg "Mo Chara" Ó Hannaidh, Naoise "Móglaí Bap" Ó Cairealláin and JJ "DJ Próvaí" Ó Dochartaigh all play themselves in this autobiographical musical drama set in Belfast.
When Liam is arrested and refuses to speak English, he strikes up a friendship with Irish teacher JJ who’s brought in to translate. When JJ discovers his rap lyrics, he forms a trio with Liam and his best friend Naoise to bring their provocative music to life.
Also in the cast is a nearly unrecognisable Jessica Reynolds of Outlander fame and Hollywood star Michael Fassbender as Naoise’s father.
Wendy Ide of The Guardian called Kneecap “exhilarating” and “one of the funniest films of the year”.
“The combination of the profane and the political, the riotous humour and punchy editing makes for one of the more energising viewing experiences of the year, and possibly one of the funniest,” she writes.
The Upcoming says: “It hardly comes as a surprise that the Kneecap won the NEXT Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
“The film will, without doubt, become a cult classic amongst certain audiences, but it is important to acknowledge that Kneecap proves to be an educational experience as well as a dramatisation.
“Through all the fun and games the political arguments remain very real and look certain to continue to be so in the distant future.”
FilmHounds’ five-star review said: “Overall, Kneecap is one of the best music biopics in decades; a film that can involve excessive drug-use and sex, yet find sincerity and a strong message at the centre of it.
“It never feels like a greatest hits track or glorifies the band (which many biopics opt to do), but instead has that grit and punch needed to tell a story like this. In decades to come, there'll be one rap trio that we will look back on as being one of the greatest to come out of Britain in the 2010s: Kneecap.”
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And The Independent calls it a “sweary, crude and brilliantly political Irish comedy”.
“Kneecap is so confident and single-minded in its telling of the semi-fictionalised origins of its titular west Belfast hip-hop trio, that it may make anyone who’s never heard of them feel like a bit of a loser,” they added.
“It’s a film that not only signals a major musical arrival, but ends up feeling a lot bigger than the conventional (and often confining) boundaries of the ‘music biopic’.”
Will you be joining the Kneecap revolution this weekend?
Kneecap is available to stream on Prime Video.
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