My Name Is Joe (1998) was directed by Ken Loach. The movie is set in a down-and-out Glasgow neighborhood.
Peter Mullan plays Joe Kavanagh, a decent guy who is a recovered alcoholic, but unemployed. Louise Goodall portrays Sarah Downie, a health visitor. (In Great Britain health visitors are like a combination of public health nurse and social worker.) The two meet and fall in love. However, the course of true love never does run true.
Joe's main interest is in the soccer team he coaches. They supply the comic relief, such as it is. (For example, stealing soccer uniforms.) They also supply a tragic figure--one of Joe's friends who is in debt to a loan shark.
I expect great films from Ken Loach, but this isn't one of them. There are real gaps that need filling in. For example, Sarah does some seemingly irrational actions. There's a reason at which she hints, but we never get her back story.
The movie also has an ambiguous ending. Directors love ambiguous endings, but I don't usually like them, and I didn't like this one.
Ken Loach is one of the greatest directors of the late 20th Century and into the early 21st Century. However, in my opinion this movie isn't one of his best. My Name is Joe has a strong IMDb rating of 7.5. I didn't think it was quite that good, and rated it 7.
Peter Mullan plays Joe Kavanagh, a decent guy who is a recovered alcoholic, but unemployed. Louise Goodall portrays Sarah Downie, a health visitor. (In Great Britain health visitors are like a combination of public health nurse and social worker.) The two meet and fall in love. However, the course of true love never does run true.
Joe's main interest is in the soccer team he coaches. They supply the comic relief, such as it is. (For example, stealing soccer uniforms.) They also supply a tragic figure--one of Joe's friends who is in debt to a loan shark.
I expect great films from Ken Loach, but this isn't one of them. There are real gaps that need filling in. For example, Sarah does some seemingly irrational actions. There's a reason at which she hints, but we never get her back story.
The movie also has an ambiguous ending. Directors love ambiguous endings, but I don't usually like them, and I didn't like this one.
Ken Loach is one of the greatest directors of the late 20th Century and into the early 21st Century. However, in my opinion this movie isn't one of his best. My Name is Joe has a strong IMDb rating of 7.5. I didn't think it was quite that good, and rated it 7.