Kneecap an energetic biopic, Fabulous Four woefully predictable

Music is the message in rollicking Kneecap

While Curtis Hansons’ 8 Mile and Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting are obvious influences on Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap, there’s something far more important at play in this pseudo-biopic of the Irish rap group. The history of oppression at the hands of the English and the heritage of the country becomes central to what motivates these three to rage against the political machine that would stifle their voices and erase their language. It’s heavy stuff, yet in Peppiatt’s hands, this rollicking, kinetic production brims with energy and excitement, effectively using bits of humor along the way to make its rebellious message go down easy.

Kneecap looks at their rise through a fictional lens, though press notes contend the spine of the story – how the group was formed and the resistance they faced – is true. Using their stage names for their characters in the film, Mo Chara is a troubled teen who’s been adrift since his father, legendary Irish activist Arlo (Michael Fassbender) “died.” Truth is, he went into hiding, the young man fully aware of this, yet resentful over his dad abandoning his mother (Simone Kirby). He and his mate, Moglai Bap, get by selling drugs, raising hell and composing poems they're embarrassed to share.

This all changes when Mo is arrested for having a bit too much fun one evening, though he is constantly harassed by Detective Ellis (Josie Walker), who believes he knows something of his father’s whereabouts. Refusing to speak the Queen’s English, JJ, a local language teacher, is brought in to help interrogate him. Only later after seeing the poems in a notebook that was confiscated from Mo does JJ realize he’s not just a simple thug.

This sets in motion a series of events in which the teacher convinces his reluctant cohorts to record their work and perform it live. Initially, they are not a rousing success, but social media helps spread their message to their peers, one that defies governmental authority by rapping in their native Irish tongue. Efforts to officially recognize the dying language are in full swing and suddenly, their defiance becomes an act of political resistance that catches fire.

While there’s a natural interest in underdog stories of this sort, the trio embellish their story to incorporate a bit of romance, a bit of humor and a great deal of in-your-face behavior that only increases our sympathy and admiration of them. Trainspotting is the obvious inspiration for the edgy aesthetic used throughout. Profane throughout, it mirrors the previous film’s attitudes towards drug use and casual sex, its anti-establishment attitude permeating the film. That it uses a buffoonish Republican paramilitary group as a punchline throughout is no accident.

And the trio bear more than a passing resemblance to the defiant, at-loose-ends characters in Boyle’s film. With no direction being provided them, Mo and Moglai have nothing to lose in expressing themselves and do so with a vengeance that proves inspiring. Meanwhile, JJ is anxious to break out of his middle-class malaise and embraces the spirit of his two young charges, finding purpose along the way. Unlike so many music acts today, these three actually have something to say and Kneecap is an insanely entertaining, vital forum that will allow them to further spread their message. In theaters.

Four an exercise in “blah”

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Each of these artists have had incredible careers, none of which could be improved upon by continuing to work. All financially secure, there seems to be no monetary incentive for them to go on plying their trades. Thus, the question is: “Why do they continue?”

Me and a group of my friends recently determined – as these are the sorts of philosophical questions we take up each Sunday morning over bagels and coffee – that despite their fame and fortune, idleness is an anathema to them. For anyone who has had a career that has spanned a prolonged period, your work comes to not only define you, but becomes one of the things in life that give you purpose. To give this up leads to a sense of displacement and a lack of direction often sets in, as well as bouts of depression. In becoming what you do, only by working can a sense of fulfillment be achieved.

I suppose that’s the reason so many well-established actresses have recently appeared in a group of films that are so obviously beneath their talent. 80 For Brady, Poms, and Summer Camp have seen the likes of Kathy Bates, Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Rita Moreno, Lily Tomlin, Alfre Woodard and others cavort on screen in woefully predictable, agonizingly safe, blandly told movies that make watching your hair grow seem exciting.

The latest is The Fabulous Four with Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Megan Mullally and Sheryl Lee Ralph. They star as, you guessed it, lifelong friends who reunite for a significant life event. However, old hurts must be discussed and resolved, activities that prove they’re not as old as they feel must be attempted and an embarrassing sequence in which one of them gets accidently high must be sat through.

There’s really no reason to get into the particulars where Four’s plot is concerned – nothing that happens is particularly interesting and there’s certainly nothing original on display. The only thing of interest in films like this is seeing which of the veteran actresses accord themselves with some sense of professionalism and which know they’re in a stinker and just phone it in.  Sarandon approaches her role as the workaholic Lou with the same dedication she applied to Dead Man Walking, while Ralph also brings a professionalism to this script it hardly deserves. Midler and Mullally are on hand for the paycheck.

It's silly to criticize films as innocuous as Four. They fulfill a need for their niche audience and are so unassuming, being disparaging towards them is pointless. If they provide a bit of happiness or inspiration for some viewers, they at least they serve some purpose, other than just giving well-established actresses something to do.  In theaters.