Directed by Rich Peppiatt | Written by Peppiatt, Naoise Ó Cairealláin aka Móglaí Bap, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh aka Mo Chara, and Jj Ó Dochartaigh aka DJ Próvai | 105 min | ▲▲▲▲△
West Belfast, 2017: As the narrator says off the top, every movie set here is about the Troubles — bombing and violence. This comedy-drama might be talking about “generational trauma,” but its tongue is firmly planted in its cheek. It tells an almost true-to-life story, acted out by its participants, of how two drug dealers joined up with a school teacher to rap in Irish Gaelic, or just Irish, depending on where you’re from.
Naoise lives with his mother, Delores (Simone Kirby), a shut-in since Naoise’s father, Arló (Michael Fassbender), died. Or did he? He was a fighter in a paramilitary group who a decade earlier faked his death and vanished, leaving his family floundering. Naoise and his buddy, Liam, make ends meet by selling drugs against the backdrop of Belfast murals, poverty and boredom. Meanwhile, mild-mannered music teacher Jj, who makes beats in his garage in his off hours, finds out that Liam’s a bit of a wordsmith — this while Jj’s girlfriend is busy raising awareness about the proposed Irish Language Act, which will make the language in Northern Ireland legally as important as English.
Much of this seems entirely unlikely, but apparently this musical auto-biopic is authentic and not taking a Weird: The Al Yankovic Story approach, more it leans into 8 Mile. The music itself is entirely legit, aggressive and profane, and these guys are pretty convincing playing themselves — it’s more difficult than you might think. From the start the playful, irreverent and sometimes obnoxious tone (with narration) is a little too indebted to Trainspotting and Human Traffic, but the film’s focus on the people struggling to manifest culture through language gives it a real thematic and emotional spine that distinguishes it from its influences.
Liam is having sex with Georgia (Jessica Reynolds), who doesn’t share his political leanings, which turns out to be a kink they can both exploit. Their relationship turns out to be one of the funniest of the film, especially when the identity of her aunt is revealed. The casting of Michael Fassbender as Naoise’s absent father is a masterstroke — he carries so much resonance for having played Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen’s Hunger.
Even as it shifts gradually from comedy to drama, and the rappers achieve the notoriety they’re hoping for — annoying both the Irish language crusaders appalled at their vulgarities and an anti-drug gang —the picture never loses its playful tone, especially while using sketchy, punky animation to help emphasize drug trips and translate rap lyrics into English, or simply providing the actual text on the screen, reminding us what this is all actually all about. Fresh material from a fresh voice.
