Twenty-eight years ago, Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor burst onto the scene of international cinema with Trainspotting, an energetic, drug-infused dark comedy about a group of friends in Edinburgh and their struggles with poverty, the law and, unsurprisingly, drugs. Just this past weekend, I saw a movie that I feel is the closest thing to recreating the excitement of discovering Trainspotting in a long time, the 2024 new movie Kneecap.
Now playing in US movie theaters and rolling out over the course of August (releases August 8 in Ireland and August 23 in the UK), Kneecap is the semi-autobiographical story of the Irish hip-hop group of the same name. In Belfast, a bit of fate brings teacher JJ into the world of self-proclaimed "low lifes" Naoise and Liam, with all of them discovering they have a passion for hip-hop and the Irish language. They decide to combine the two and form their own group that becomes a symbol of rebellion and the fight to preserve their native tongue. The movie stars Kneecap's real-life members Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara and DJ Provaí, as well as Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds, Adam Best, Simone Kirby and Michael Fassbender. It is directed by Rich Peppiatt, who also co-wrote the script with the Kneecap trio.
