This year’s best musical is actually an Irish film coming soon to Netflix

With Wicked in theaters, and even being hyped up for a few Oscar nods, everyone’s scampering to list the best musicals to flex their range. But I’m here to tell you, forget ‘em all, because this year’s best musical is an Irish film about hip-hop that is already in the Oscars race. Kneecap, a hilarious, stylish, total livewire of a movie, which is soon dropping on Netflix!

Where can you watch Kneecap?

In January 2024, Richard Peppiatt’s Kneecap became the first Irish language film to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Upon its theatrical release in August, the film was chosen as Ireland’s official entry to the Best International Feature Film category for the Oscars. And if you missed it then, you needn’t bust your kneecaps with worry, because the film will be available to stream on Netflix (courtesy of Sony Pictures) in the United States for those with a subscription from December 2, 2024.

What’s Kneecap about?

In the aftermath of the Troubles, a period of violent ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that began in the 1960s and lasted until the 1990s, there have been lingering cultural and political tensions over Irish language rights and national identity. Kneecap is a biographical musical comedy-drama set in 2017 about the chaotic rise of an Irish hip-hop trio by the same name, based out of West Belfast, who become unlikely leaders in a civil rights movement due to their music. 

But here’s comes the glitch: Dropping bars isn’t their only passion. There are drugs involved too. And some complicated family history. The trio’s controversial political music and substance abuse begin affecting their personal and professional lives, while also making them plenty of enemies, including the cops and groups with ideological differences.

Kneecap marks the feature film debut of English writer and filmmaker Rich Peppiatt (One Rogue Reporter), who had previously directed a music video for the band’s single. The three band members—Liam Óg “Mo Chara” Ó Hannaidh, Naoise “Móglaí Bap” Ó Cairealláin, and JJ “DJ Próvaí” Ó Dochartaigh—play themselves in the film, alongside actors Simone Kirby, Jessica Reynolds, Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, and Adam West. German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender also appears in a supporting role as Arlo Ó Cairealláin, father of Naoise and a former paramilitary-turned-yoga instructor who is presumed dead but hiding from the authorities.

What makes Kneecap one of the best musicals of the year?

Oh, it just looks so good (something I wish I could say about Wicked too)! Kneecap adopts the grungy, ‘heroic chic’ aesthetic of films like Requiem for a Dream and Trainspotting, along with the style of Guy Ritchie’s gangster flicks, the hip-hop vibe of 8 Mile, and the cackling Irish humour of Derry Girls, all doped up and cranked to a 100. The performances make you sit up and take notice, the music is a bop, and the comedy gags land. More importantly, the film made me curious about the band and check out some of their music too. In my books, this is worth some brownie points.

I watched Kneecap at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in October 2024, where it had its South Asia Premiere in the World Cinema section. The thing about doing film festivals is that they make you tired and drowsy, and you’re bound to doze off a little during the movies, which is no testament to their quality; it’s just human. But the moment Kneecap began… with its opening montage itself, it woke me up like an electric shock! It’s got a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.1 on Letterboxd.

Give it a chance and it might convert you too!