Kneecap
NZ release: 24 October 2024
Violence, drug use, sex scenes, and offensive language Rated on: 10 September 2024
What’s it about?
When Belfast teacher JJ crosses paths with self-confessed "lowlife scum" Naoise and Liam Óg, an unexpected alliance forms, leading to the rise of the Irish rap group Kneecap. This comedy-drama follows their journey as they rap in their native Irish language and ignite a movement to preserve their mother tongue, fueled by their shared love for their heritage.
The facts
- Directed by Rich Peppiatt
- English and Irish-Gaelic
- Runtime: 104 minutes
- Premiered at the New Zealand International Film Festival 2024
Why did it get this rating?
This film was classified by Te Mana Whakaatu, Classification Office. You can find out more about classification process and ratings here.
Violence
Band members are assaulted for using drugs. From a distance you seem them kicked and punched and one of them are left with blood down their face.
A detective assaults one of the band members while in custody, hitting them in the stomach and face with a pipe and causing their nose to bleed.
A character shoots several people in the legs. We see them clutching their injured limbs as they crawl away, leaving a trail of blood.
Drug use
Characters regularly use drugs including cocaine, MDMA and LSD. They take drugs while partying, which initially is shown in a glamourous light, but the characters then face consequences for being high: one of them ends up in a rubbish bin, and another passes out and urinates in their pants.
A couple of the band members deal drugs sourced from the dark web. They say they got their “MDMA from Holland, ketamine from India and mephedrone from Vietnam.”
There are references to drugs in Kneecap’s songs.
A group named RRAD (Radical Republicans Against Drugs) threatens and targets the band for using and selling drugs.
Sex scenes
The film features explicit sex scenes where we see female breast nudity and various sexual positions, characters moaning and talking dirty to each other. For example a woman says “don’t you dare cum, I wanna blow you” to her male partner.
A character walks in on the same two characters having sex. We see the woman on all fours wearing a bra and an eye mask, and she has a cord around her neck. The man is in his underwear holding a ladle. They dress quickly after being caught.
There are some crude references to sex, including jokes about sexually transmitted infections.
Offensive language
There’s frequent use of offensive language including “f*ck,” “f*cking,” “c*nt,” “sh*te,” “pr*ck” and “p*ssed.” A few phrases like “no c*nt who speaks Irish listens to hip-hop" are intended to be humorous and could be repeated by younger viewers.
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