Bumblebee
Mary Poppins Returns
Halloween
Outlander
Log in with Facebook
OR
By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies, and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango.
Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password.
Critics Consensus: A gritty documentary that captures the brutality and banality of bare-knuckle fights among Irish Travellers.
Critic Consensus: A gritty documentary that captures the brutality and banality of bare-knuckle fights among Irish Travellers.
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (2)
A deeply unsettling experience.
Palmer's film is brutally compelling to look at, as the lads get down to face-rearranging, but it also carries a lot of tragic historical freight.
While it's frustrating that Mr. Palmer doesn't dig deep into the complexities of the fights, one of the movie's strengths is the honesty with which he confesses his doubts about them.
Though you will wish for more polish and insight, its unruly action is hard to resist.
Knuckle largely skirts exploitation, simply by virtue of showing this conflict perpetuate itself over so many years. Clans like the Quinn McDonaghs and the Joyces seem destined to fight for generations after they've forgotten their rationale.
While the film becomes slightly redundant, the anger and strife its characters cannot overcome is awful, poetic and, frankly, astonishing.
Knuckle offers an intimate look at a largely unfamiliar culture that is fascinating even if you have no interest in boxing
A dark, brutal, black hole world of casual physical violence.
An extraordinarily compelling and hard-hitting portrait of two Irish families and their decades-old, bare-knuckled feud.
A time machine of ancient tradition spotlighting bloody and violent bare-knuckle fighting that is as much legend as reality. Fascinating from start to finish.
Shot over 12 years, Ian Palmer's extraordinary documentary tracks the long-running feud between the Joyces and the Quinn McDonaghs.
A compelling and occasionally disturbing documentary shot over the course of 12 years and covering too many conflicts to count.
" Twelve years. Three clans. One war." An epic 12-year journey into the brutal and secretive world of Irish Traveler bare-knuckle fighting. This film follows a history of violent feuding between rival clans.
Super Reviewer
Like many great documentaries, Knuckle was born out of something else. It originally began as a wedding video. Ian Palmer found something so interesting about his guests, he ventured further and discovered the world of Irish travelling bare knuckle boxing. Most specifically he follows the feud between two clans of the same family, The McDonaghs and the Joyces. So after that wedding video, Palmer ended up documenting this feud and these fights for 12 years. This extraordinary amount of time puts the whole thing into perspective about the needlessness and absurdity of violence. Many say the feud goes back 50 years, and yet nobody gives a straight answer as to its origins. People hold grudges and plan rematches 9 years down the line. It becomes obvious that fighting has become an addiction and a way of life for these poor men. They have nothing else to do. When we see the acclaim they receive from their families, it's easy to see why they have been so taken in by aggression. In the first fight James McDonagh says it will be his last, but it's far from it. He seems genuine about his wanting to quit, but he always ends up in another fight. Even the director talks about how he continued filming just for the thrill, and had lost sight of his documentary. Every fight is brutal in that realistic sense, and Palmer clearly paints a vivid picture of this strange world. Aggressive men, but loving husbands and fathers. Fights that are fought for lack of reason, but are controlled and fair with a sense of honour. Knuckle is the kind of film that lures you in with basic blood lust, but gives you a whole lot more.
There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.
View All