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Knuckle

Play trailer Poster for Knuckle R 2011 1h 33m Documentary Biography Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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93% Tomatometer 45 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Two feuding Irish families resolve their differences through bare-knuckle boxing.
Knuckle

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A gritty documentary that captures the brutality and banality of bare-knuckle fights among Irish Travellers.

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Critics Reviews

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Eric Kohn IndieWire 12/13/2011
B
A deeply unsettling experience. Go to Full Review
Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle 12/09/2011
3.5/5
As Palmer rightly shows, there's plenty of heart and soul (rough-and-tumble though it may be) beneath the acres of scar tissue on display here. Go to Full Review
Kyle Smith New York Post 12/09/2011
3/4
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. Go to Full Review
Gemma Creagh Film Ireland Magazine 06/11/2024
Interesting, touching and at times downright hilarious, Knuckle is a compelling and fascinating film. A knockout if you will! Go to Full Review
David Bax Battleship Pretension 02/10/2021
Knuckle allows you to spend an hour and a half inside a ceaselessly captivating world you likely didn't even know existed. That alone is worth something. It's unfortunate that Palmer wasn't interested in doing more with what he had, though. Go to Full Review
Sarah Manvel Kamera.co.uk 08/06/2018
Knuckle doesn't get as near to the heart of Traveller culture as it had the opportunity to. It's a golden opportunity, squandered. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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09/05/2022 There's no getting away from the sheer voyeurism of the documentary. Whenever you hear two people are fighting in a pub, car park, street, everyone turns round to watch it. Some primordial instinct and that is almost all that we have on show here. However, it is relatively non judgemental and leaves the viewer to form their own impressions of the culture and the characters. There's not too much depth but it makes for an extreme character study. See more Tim G 05/13/2016 What a weird culture. See more 04/03/2016 When I first saw Knuckle, I thought it would have probably been the least film/documentary I would watch. I found it easier and more alive when I saw it again for second time. When I first saw the trailer and I seen the critic reviews before the trailer ended I did think to myself, "Wow I really have to see this movie/documentary. There was one review that caught my eye and it said, "Forget Guy Richie, this is bloody, brutal and above all real" and I have to say Trevor Johnson from Time Out magazine was right. A great movie/documentary to watch and is very enjoyable. See more 08/19/2015 Ian Palmer's fascinating look into the oft hidden world of traveling Irish gypsies and there subsequent bare knuckle boxing is a raw unflinching documentary that while not offering any concrete answers as to why these things happen it's still a must see account of some wholly original real life characters and lifestyles. Make no doubt about you will need to have subtitles on for Knuckle for it features a set of Irish men whose accent is so thick you would be hard pressed to understand a single sentence. The focus of Knuckle and these men is on James McDonagh a man who has never lost a fight and amongst his fellow kin is likened to some sort of Irish boxing God. James is a bewildering character but an ever watchable one, witness as he proclaims his fighting days are over only to again return to the arena to uphold is families name once more. Capturing James and his family over twelve years is director Palmer who deserves much credit for his work here. Palmer's direction is not professional in any stretch of the imagination but what it is true to the subject and his ability to have an unflinching eye on proceedings of these family feuds should be commended. With Palmer's hand behind camera the film never feels like it is taking a side in the story or pointing fingers at anyone whether they seem right or wrong, it's a bold directional decision yet allows the film to play out in non-intrusive way. Knuckle is a gritty violent film that some will find truly repulsive, Knuckle is also a must see for what happens in this story is real, the people are real and the emotions are real. If someone were to make a movie of this story it would seem unrealistic yet here we have an unquestionably honest look at a world that many would prefer not to acknowledge, put it this way if you thought Brad Pitt was the quintessential gypsy boxer you ain't seen nothing yet. 4 swollen knuckles out of 5 For more movie reviews and opinions check out - www.jordanandeddie.wordpress.com See more 04/13/2014 I really just don't like boxing ha. See more 02/11/2014 It was somewhat interesting. However, nobody that fights in the movie is actually that skilled. Also, I don't see the problem with allowing them to fight yeah none of them could actually hurt one another. See more Read all reviews
Knuckle

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Movie Info

Synopsis Two feuding Irish families resolve their differences through bare-knuckle boxing.
Director
Ian Palmer
Producer
Teddy Leifer, Ian Palmer
Rating
R (Violent Content|Language)
Genre
Documentary, Biography, Drama
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 18, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.6K
Runtime
1h 33m