Believe me as soon this movie has ended it will be damned difficult not to reach for your handkerchief and not to dry your eyes as this movie really touches you, and director Ken Loach doesn't even need no Titanic-script as according to his style he just picks out some stories of life. We are in Glasgow, Scotland at where we meet Joe (Peter Mullan), an ex-alcoholic who is on the dole and whose sole surviving point is the footballteam (that always loose) he manages. It's more friendship then football but out of a sudden he meets a nurse Sarah (Louise Goodall) and he falls in love. For Sarah it is quite difficult, she loves him but she can't get used to the world Joe lives in, a world that is dominated by poverty. Everything goes badly wrong when Joe decides to help one of his footballplayers Liam (David McKay) who is a junk and who is in the hands of the mob that are awaiting 2000 pounds from him. Little by little Joe is witnessing that he looses everything that he build up the day he said the bottle farewell. This is not Loach's most known film (I guess that is Raining Stones) but this movie really had its impact on the festival of Cannes and it made a sort of indiestar from actor Peter Mullan who recently made his debut as director making "The Magdalene Sisters". Along with Mike Leigh is Loach one of the best British directors ever, a film you absolutely must see!!!!
51 Reviews
One finds it very difficult to find fault with My Name is Joe, a film all about people with them as well as their battles to stay away from them.
johnnyboyz2 February 2012
That sense of what people can only look at and see with their own naked eyes and that of the stone wall truth lurking beneath is at the heart of Ken Loach's utterly mesmerising film My Name is Joe, a sentiment epitomised much later on when a bus load of Japanese tourists are seen to be visiting the nation of Scotland and ogle over what one might describe as a stereotypical Scotsman dancing away in his kilt whilst playing the bagpipes. The film's lead, a man who has taken a fair few knocks in his time, looks on at those embracing the outer-shell without, it would seem, giving much of a thought to anything else. You wouldn't know that Joe, the titular lead, was once an embittered and thoroughly foul individual whose turning to drink had him become a bit of a monster without a scene in which he confirms such a thing. The film is about alcoholism, but not the descent into it as much as it is the tale of somebody who has been there; defeated it and then strives to hold it off again on the way back up. In a sense, the film adopts that of the complexion of something along the lines of Carlito's Way but does for addiction what said De Palma film did for crime whereas its veering away from the depiction of someone (usually a young person, or a collection of young people) getting caught up in drugs and drug addiction has it feel eminently more refreshing away from British fare of around the time in Trainspotting and Human Traffic or from across the Atlantic in Requiem for a Dream.
That notion, harking back to those tourists and the distinction between what people can only see and what the reality of someone or something actually is, lies in Peter Mullan's Joe Kavanagh, a rough and ready individual who redecorates houses for a living; plays his football at weekends and sticks to the tried and tested items of leisure from his era, in the form of music from decades ago. The fact he was once the monster that he was becomes more apparent when we realise anyone in the world would far prefer him the way he is now compared to then, and yet brief descriptions of the man still has him sound like the sort of person most would cross the street if it meant avoiding walking past him. The film begins with a man's verbal confirmation of what an alcoholic is; the verbal closing of a particular chapter in his life and then a getting up and exiting of a room full of people to a round of applause from all involved. It is our Joe, and he has just attended his last alcoholic support group therapy session having been declared as to have defeated the condition and thus, free to go on living away from therapy attendance.
Thus starts a 'beginning again'; a new chapter and a new lease of life beginning with this point, a line from Joe during a chess match with one of his many friends seeing him state that he has "absolutley nothing" and is generally on the bottom rung of whatever ladder encompasses this time and place. Hiding behind his quick wit and cynicism, Joe keeps male company that isn't necessarily of the most resounding sort, and sees him able to wind them up them by instigating a mock-police raid prior to knocking on the front door – their reactions of leaping out of windows and doing everything in their power to escape speaks volumes. They play football at weekends and shout and jeer and swear, they even steal brand new football kits from the rear of sports shops when it becomes apparent they need new ones as people unload the things from lorries. Throughout, Loach's style, indebted to cinema vérité, props up proceedings and compliments greatly the material throughout.
At the core of the film is a relationship Joe finds himself in with a woman of his age named Sarah (Goodall), a social worker who operates with children that are under a great deal of strain thus coming across as someone adept at dealing with those of whom are a little problematic; a tad difficult to initially get to grips with and someone, we feel, with an enormous amount of patience in this regard – characteristics which bode well for her bond with Joe. While she doesn't understand, nor is particularly fond of, football and he doesn't go anywhere near the wine that she enjoys drinking with her dinner, these two come together and share something special which is introduced; developed and generally depicted with near effortless precision and finesse.
Around at Joe's apartment for one evening, she observes a group of youths casually enjoying alcohol on a local green outside his window and we get a general sense that this is where Joe was as a young man. Their tryst is a pleasing addition to Joe's constant combating of veering too far back towards old habits, his relationship with Sarah the opportunity for redemption in maintaining a relationship with a woman after it is revealed what previously happened. There are, of course, events and people around the lead whom drag him ever closer back to his pits of despair and disaster; the crime genre aspect of the film as a young hothead struggles with an outstanding debt compliments, more-so sits unsettlingly, with the lighthearted and comedic strand following the fortunes of a hapless football eleven as well as the romance with Sarah. One cannot speak highly enough of this wondrous piece, an intelligent and well made film those of whom enjoy their drama grounded and adult and their characterisation rich and textured.
That notion, harking back to those tourists and the distinction between what people can only see and what the reality of someone or something actually is, lies in Peter Mullan's Joe Kavanagh, a rough and ready individual who redecorates houses for a living; plays his football at weekends and sticks to the tried and tested items of leisure from his era, in the form of music from decades ago. The fact he was once the monster that he was becomes more apparent when we realise anyone in the world would far prefer him the way he is now compared to then, and yet brief descriptions of the man still has him sound like the sort of person most would cross the street if it meant avoiding walking past him. The film begins with a man's verbal confirmation of what an alcoholic is; the verbal closing of a particular chapter in his life and then a getting up and exiting of a room full of people to a round of applause from all involved. It is our Joe, and he has just attended his last alcoholic support group therapy session having been declared as to have defeated the condition and thus, free to go on living away from therapy attendance.
Thus starts a 'beginning again'; a new chapter and a new lease of life beginning with this point, a line from Joe during a chess match with one of his many friends seeing him state that he has "absolutley nothing" and is generally on the bottom rung of whatever ladder encompasses this time and place. Hiding behind his quick wit and cynicism, Joe keeps male company that isn't necessarily of the most resounding sort, and sees him able to wind them up them by instigating a mock-police raid prior to knocking on the front door – their reactions of leaping out of windows and doing everything in their power to escape speaks volumes. They play football at weekends and shout and jeer and swear, they even steal brand new football kits from the rear of sports shops when it becomes apparent they need new ones as people unload the things from lorries. Throughout, Loach's style, indebted to cinema vérité, props up proceedings and compliments greatly the material throughout.
At the core of the film is a relationship Joe finds himself in with a woman of his age named Sarah (Goodall), a social worker who operates with children that are under a great deal of strain thus coming across as someone adept at dealing with those of whom are a little problematic; a tad difficult to initially get to grips with and someone, we feel, with an enormous amount of patience in this regard – characteristics which bode well for her bond with Joe. While she doesn't understand, nor is particularly fond of, football and he doesn't go anywhere near the wine that she enjoys drinking with her dinner, these two come together and share something special which is introduced; developed and generally depicted with near effortless precision and finesse.
Around at Joe's apartment for one evening, she observes a group of youths casually enjoying alcohol on a local green outside his window and we get a general sense that this is where Joe was as a young man. Their tryst is a pleasing addition to Joe's constant combating of veering too far back towards old habits, his relationship with Sarah the opportunity for redemption in maintaining a relationship with a woman after it is revealed what previously happened. There are, of course, events and people around the lead whom drag him ever closer back to his pits of despair and disaster; the crime genre aspect of the film as a young hothead struggles with an outstanding debt compliments, more-so sits unsettlingly, with the lighthearted and comedic strand following the fortunes of a hapless football eleven as well as the romance with Sarah. One cannot speak highly enough of this wondrous piece, an intelligent and well made film those of whom enjoy their drama grounded and adult and their characterisation rich and textured.
Another Ken Loach masterpiece.
r4l22 December 2002
I came across this film by accident on video, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality. Ken Loach is again at his best using little known or non-actors set in a British working class background. Joe is a reformed alcoholic on the dole in Glasgow, trying to pick his life up again. Loach's vision and understanding of life close to the limit is amazing.
For me, this is a "must see" film.
For me, this is a "must see" film.
A work of compassion and humanity
howard.schumann14 March 2005
Ken Loach has been making films about working class families for many years and My Name is Joe is one of his most powerful. Peter Mullan is instantly likable as Joe Kavanagh, a recovering alcoholic from Ruchill, a decaying suburb of Glasgow, who has a lot at stake. He has fallen in love with Sarah (Louis Goodall), a health worker, and wants to go straight but circumstances conspire against him. He is determined to help his friend Liam (David McKay) when he gets behind on his payments to a drug dealer but his options are limited and he is forced to make a choice that threatens the stability of his fragile relationship.
Mullan won the Best Actor award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and it is fully deserved. We know that Joe's problems are overwhelming but we root for him to make it in spite of the odds because of his warmth and humor and generosity towards others. Joe has been sober for a year and attends sessions of Alcoholics Anonymous. He also coaches the local soccer team composed of unemployed workers who have won only one game the entire year. When he meets Sarah, a social worker for the Health Department who is visiting Liam and his wife Sabine (Anne-Marie Kennedy) and young child, things start to look up. We do not learn much about Sarah's past but it is obvious that the two have discovered each other at a crucial point in their life.
In a powerful scene, Sarah asks Joe why he stopped drinking and he tells her how he had beaten a woman he was dating and has never forgiven himself. Both are very tentative about getting involved but they are also drawn to each other and can think about the future for the first time. Sadly, the world has other plans. Sabine is a heroin addict who used the drugs she was supposed to sell and is in serious debt to a local drug dealer McGowan (David Hayman), an old friend of Joe's. When the mobster boss demands that Liam cover his wife's debt or they will break his legs, Joe tries to moderate and ends up striking a deal with the mob, leading to a series of unfortunate events. In one of the most emotionally gripping scenes, Sarah berates Joe for lying to her and he responds "Some of us don't have a choice. Some of us don't have a f***ing choice." The mean streets of Ruchill are strewn with the results of urban decay and Loach does not spare us the details. He even mocks the image of bonnie Scotland with a scene involving a kilt-clad bagpiper playing the same three songs over and over for a group of tourists. Combining gritty realism with humor, My Name is Joe has an outstanding script by Paul Laverty and fully dimensional characters that transcend clichés. Loach does not pass judgment on his characters or directly condemn society for their failings. It is a work of compassion and humanity.
Mullan won the Best Actor award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and it is fully deserved. We know that Joe's problems are overwhelming but we root for him to make it in spite of the odds because of his warmth and humor and generosity towards others. Joe has been sober for a year and attends sessions of Alcoholics Anonymous. He also coaches the local soccer team composed of unemployed workers who have won only one game the entire year. When he meets Sarah, a social worker for the Health Department who is visiting Liam and his wife Sabine (Anne-Marie Kennedy) and young child, things start to look up. We do not learn much about Sarah's past but it is obvious that the two have discovered each other at a crucial point in their life.
In a powerful scene, Sarah asks Joe why he stopped drinking and he tells her how he had beaten a woman he was dating and has never forgiven himself. Both are very tentative about getting involved but they are also drawn to each other and can think about the future for the first time. Sadly, the world has other plans. Sabine is a heroin addict who used the drugs she was supposed to sell and is in serious debt to a local drug dealer McGowan (David Hayman), an old friend of Joe's. When the mobster boss demands that Liam cover his wife's debt or they will break his legs, Joe tries to moderate and ends up striking a deal with the mob, leading to a series of unfortunate events. In one of the most emotionally gripping scenes, Sarah berates Joe for lying to her and he responds "Some of us don't have a choice. Some of us don't have a f***ing choice." The mean streets of Ruchill are strewn with the results of urban decay and Loach does not spare us the details. He even mocks the image of bonnie Scotland with a scene involving a kilt-clad bagpiper playing the same three songs over and over for a group of tourists. Combining gritty realism with humor, My Name is Joe has an outstanding script by Paul Laverty and fully dimensional characters that transcend clichés. Loach does not pass judgment on his characters or directly condemn society for their failings. It is a work of compassion and humanity.
Gritty realism, powerfully performed, a must-see movie
stevie j9 November 2002
The awesome realism of "Once Were Warriors" (New Zealand, 1994), successfully transposed to Glasgow, Scotland.
Solid, decent human beings use alcohol and drugs to "cope" with life. But, life only gets worse, loyalties are brutally tested, and one poor unfortunate will not survive. But, don't think this to be another flaccid piece of cliched, anti-drug drivel. No, this film speaks powerfully to the perverse, and often vicious, arbitrariness of life. Darwinians, of course, will be unmoved. The rest of us, however, will be chilled by the scale of our impotence in making this world a better place. Prepare yourself to feel humbled.
Solid, decent human beings use alcohol and drugs to "cope" with life. But, life only gets worse, loyalties are brutally tested, and one poor unfortunate will not survive. But, don't think this to be another flaccid piece of cliched, anti-drug drivel. No, this film speaks powerfully to the perverse, and often vicious, arbitrariness of life. Darwinians, of course, will be unmoved. The rest of us, however, will be chilled by the scale of our impotence in making this world a better place. Prepare yourself to feel humbled.
Great Ken Loach movie. A funny and dramatic.
Phil-831 October 1998
First this movie seems to be much lighter than previous Loach realisations (remember LadyBird, LadyBird ?). Joe is a hell of a good guy and the other characters are as true as possible. And it is truly funny (the football matches of the "German" team are hilarious). But then, like in many of the best Loach movies, the social reality, with all its dramatic aspects, turns the end of the movie into a real tragedy. A must, in my opinion.
If you're looking for escapism, give this one a miss.
Roger-393 January 1999
As with other Ken Loach films, "My Name is Joe" gives a grim view of life for the disadvantaged.
It also makes for difficult viewing. This is partly because of the dialogue. If, like me, you didn't grow up in working class Glasgow, you might feel the need for sub titles at times. To be fair, I did follow the plot but only by paying careful attention at all times.
The second reason for difficulty is the plot itself. Life is just grim for the main characters. Some, like Liam and Sabine really have no way out of poverty and worse. Joe starts out as a more hopeful character - he seems to be successfully winning the battle against alcoholism and, as manager of a local football team, he is a respected member of the community. And look out for his clothes, which really are remarkably up market compared with pretty well everyone else in the film.
But once he tries for the good life by getting into a relationship with a "middle class professional", things start to fall apart as his loyalties pull him in opposite directions.
So it's not an easy film - but then there are no free lunches!
It also makes for difficult viewing. This is partly because of the dialogue. If, like me, you didn't grow up in working class Glasgow, you might feel the need for sub titles at times. To be fair, I did follow the plot but only by paying careful attention at all times.
The second reason for difficulty is the plot itself. Life is just grim for the main characters. Some, like Liam and Sabine really have no way out of poverty and worse. Joe starts out as a more hopeful character - he seems to be successfully winning the battle against alcoholism and, as manager of a local football team, he is a respected member of the community. And look out for his clothes, which really are remarkably up market compared with pretty well everyone else in the film.
But once he tries for the good life by getting into a relationship with a "middle class professional", things start to fall apart as his loyalties pull him in opposite directions.
So it's not an easy film - but then there are no free lunches!
Heartwarming realism
Olivia-29 November 1998
A review of this film in the Telegraph asks, "Why do people go to see Ken Loach films?" I would suggest that people go to see Ken Loach films because they're interested in society, interested in how people live, and keen to see films about REAL people i.e. people who aren't rich and beautiful and don't live in charming pieds a terre in Chelsea ... My Name is Joe is at the same time heartwarming and heartbreaking, making you feel good about the characters whilst thanking your lucky stars that you don't live the lives they do. Go and see it with an open mind and a thirst for realism.
I was cast as an "American Tourist" for this film.
alba-721 January 2005
I was living and working in Scotland when I was asked by the "American Women's Club" (of all people) to be in a movie by Ken Loach. I had no direct connection to this "club". My wife (who also had no connection) had been approached by members. Ken Loach was looking for Americans as if we were some specially dressed and outrageous lot. I was wearing a green L.L.Bean fleece (as I always did in Scotland because of the weather) in the scene filmed at Rest-and-be-Thankful. Peter Mullin, who played Joe in the film was at the tea wagon. I was down below with my "wife", another American, near the Mini selling Scottish stuff. The one scene took all day to shoot. I was paid 60 quid. Saw the film in Paisley with next door neighbors who were Scottish. They thought it was very depressing. So did I. Glasgow has its problems. It is still considered the most horrible place in Scotland. As far as drug culture and drug related crime goes, Edinburgh is probably worse! Glasgow will always get the bad rap compared to the "Capitol". That is because Edinburgh wants to get the biggest cut of American tourist dollars. Glaswegians joke about whether they require a passport to visit Edinburgh. They also say "Ah... Edinburgh... the music... the humor... the castle... well, one out of three isn't bad! So Americans, continue to visit Edinburgh only. Warnings to hold onto your wallet. It is thick with thieves, as are the bad parts of Glasgow. As for this movie, and most of Ken Loach's movies, he always tries to make a case against the status quo and blames the British society as a whole. Margaret Thatcher, in Ken Loach's eyes, is the devil for every misfortune that befell British society for the past 25 years or so. Good movie but take it with a grain of salt. Ken Loach and his propaganda, is Britain's equivalent to America's Noam Chomsky.
another Ken Loach winner
dbdumonteil1 June 2007
Joe (Peter Mullan) is a guy who has seen it all before. A former alcoholic, he kicked his habit. Now he is unemployed but is paradoxically very active since he trains a little football team and interests himself in young Liam who has a brush with the local underground for a story of unpaid drugs with his young spouse Sabine. He falls in love with Sarah, a social worker who brings them help and support. The two people fall in love whereas to help Liam, Joe is ready to break the law and to do shady jobs for the mobsters. Will his relationship with Sarah be affected by this?
When he places his camera in the popular neighborhoods of a big city eaten away by unemployment, Ken Loach is the defender of the outcasts who are very strongly linked by friendship and mutual support, like Joe here with his tiny football team. Loach refuses to feel pity for them and shots the outset of his film with energy and generosity. Where he also grabs the audience and impresses her is his master at supple cinematographic writing. "My Name is Joe" starts up first time with a humorist perspective that the filmmaker will try to keep to the maximum. You have to see Joe and his sidekick who pretend to be professional house painters to Sarah's. Then, as Liam and Sabine's trouble grow and with Joe's decision to help them, the tone becomes darker, blacker and is here to remind us that we are in Loach's universe. His characters in spite of their big efforts are caught up in a sad fate. In the end, Loach runs the whole gamut of tones with ability in a quite gloomy plot.
The arresting performance of Peter Mullan helps to make Loach's 1998 film more appealing and it's one to discover or rediscover.
When he places his camera in the popular neighborhoods of a big city eaten away by unemployment, Ken Loach is the defender of the outcasts who are very strongly linked by friendship and mutual support, like Joe here with his tiny football team. Loach refuses to feel pity for them and shots the outset of his film with energy and generosity. Where he also grabs the audience and impresses her is his master at supple cinematographic writing. "My Name is Joe" starts up first time with a humorist perspective that the filmmaker will try to keep to the maximum. You have to see Joe and his sidekick who pretend to be professional house painters to Sarah's. Then, as Liam and Sabine's trouble grow and with Joe's decision to help them, the tone becomes darker, blacker and is here to remind us that we are in Loach's universe. His characters in spite of their big efforts are caught up in a sad fate. In the end, Loach runs the whole gamut of tones with ability in a quite gloomy plot.
The arresting performance of Peter Mullan helps to make Loach's 1998 film more appealing and it's one to discover or rediscover.
Love has its way
fredrikgunerius19 October 2023
As far removed from Hollywood's glamour as can come is Ken Loach's take on working-class life in Glasgow, in this film centered around a recovering alcoholic named Joe. Or rather non-working class, because the poverty and despair of the struggling late 1990s characters in My Name Is Joe feel as palpable as real unemployment. Loach describes the hopelessness of post-Thatcher peripheral Britain, much like Danny Boyle did in Trainspotting or Peter Cattaneo did with The Full Monty during the same period, only without the flashiness of the former or the bubbling positivism of the latter. Loach's characters are utterly and fundamentally sad - even when they are trying to have some fun. And since they have been in this rot for a long time, their destructiveness and, to be honest, often lack of redeemable qualities almost makes you feel they deserve their bad luck. Loach certainly gives them nothing for free.
Still, and as you may have learned by now, love has its way, and the romance between Joe and a well-doing health visitor named Sarah comes with a rare filmatic bareness and honesty. The lack of any kind of classical romanticism between them brings out another aspect: how much these two need each other; theirs feels like a romance borne out of necessity and circumstance, not plot-convenience. Like he has become known for doing over the years, Ken Loach strips his characters and environments down and presents them to us as they are. My Name Is Joe does tests the audience's zeal and goodness, but ultimately even Ken Loach rewards his most patient viewers.
Still, and as you may have learned by now, love has its way, and the romance between Joe and a well-doing health visitor named Sarah comes with a rare filmatic bareness and honesty. The lack of any kind of classical romanticism between them brings out another aspect: how much these two need each other; theirs feels like a romance borne out of necessity and circumstance, not plot-convenience. Like he has become known for doing over the years, Ken Loach strips his characters and environments down and presents them to us as they are. My Name Is Joe does tests the audience's zeal and goodness, but ultimately even Ken Loach rewards his most patient viewers.
A Very Touching Movie
claudio_carvalho15 December 2003
In Glasgow, Joe Kavanagh (Peter Mullan, in a superb performance) is an ex-alcoholic and unemployed simple, but good man. He is the couch of a soccer team, formed by poor players. Joe meets Sarah Downie (Louise Goodall), a community health worker and they start a romance. Liam (David McKay) is a player in Joe's team and ex-addicted in drugs. He has a beautiful son, but his wife Sabine (Anne-Marie Kennedy) is still using drugs and raises a huge debt together with the local drug dealer McGowan (David Hayman). Joe becomes aware of the problem and McGowan offers four options: the debt of 2.000 pounds be paid, Sabine becomes a prostitute, Liam becomes a drug dealer or Joe makes two delivers of drugs for him. Joe accepts the last option, jeopardizing the love of Sarah for him. This very touching low budget movie is an authentic lesson to Hollywood personnel of `How to make an excellent movie having an outstanding director, a wonderful screenplay and marvelous cast'. The story is simple, very credible and with no concessions. The focus is part of the Scottish population that lives in poverty conditions and without many options in life, and it is painful. The end of the story will break the heart of the viewer: it is impossible not to be with wet eyes. The soundtrack suits perfectly to this film. My vote is nine.
Not the greatest Loach film
Red-1251 August 2020
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.
Gets lost in the myriad of British "social" films
alex-18719 January 1999
I must unwillingly give a thumbs down to this film. It isn't actually a delusion per se; It actually might be what people expect these days from a British director, but Loach can and must do better (and, in the past, has done), while this could be a nice "opera prima" for a debutante. For those wishing to have access to a real Loach's good film, I would advice to take "Riff-raff" back from the shelf. It might be ten years old but it's still ten times better either.
Entertaining film about "social issues"
Teach-714 January 1999
Ken Loach is a truly exceptional film-maker. Like Bunuel, he has seemingly risen from the dead (during Thatcher's reign) and re-emerged as an international force. I found his latest film "My name is Joe" to be a hugely enjoyable affair, perhaps a little less abrasive and direct than his earlier efforts, like "Poor cow" and "Family life". Even so, he depicts "working class"- people with the same warmth and insight as before.
The main character is Joe, a jobless reformed alcoholic in Glasgow with a heart of gold. In the attempt to better the lot of those around him, (and forget his self-loathing) Joe organizes a football team and makes house-calls on those in need of support, especially Liam and Sabine, a young couple in dire straits. Liam owes 500 pounds to the local drug-dealer, and Sabine has likewise racked up a debt. Joe tries his best to offer help, but when he is forced to perform a criminal act, he runs the risk of losing his law-abiding girl-friend into the bargain.
Joe is a character whom you instantly like. Even his transgressions won't make you think the worse of him, as he quite obviously suffers from what he's done. Joe wants to lead a "normal" life, stay on the right side of the law, get a girlfriend and what have you. But he just can't juggle off his past as a drunkard, he can't get off the dole and so hasn't the means to move away from his run-down apartment, his rotten little suburb. His only hope is to get someone to love him, someone to lift him out of the rut, to boost his self-esteem.
It is, for sure, a touching, humane story, beautifully scripted, shot in a simple style, and with a wonderful central performance by Peter Mullan. My question is, is it more? Is MNIJ a valid comment on deprived communities in Britain today? Do there still exist working class ethics like the ones Loach depicts in this movie? And are they still as relevant as when Britain was poor back in the 60' ies, the decade of Loach's first movies?
Granted, there are still poor, neglected people aplenty, but do they behave like this? This movie seems a little on the soft side compared to say Gillian MacKinnon's "Small faces", and even "Trainspotting". "MNIJ, I feel, is more of a self-contained Chekhovian drama than an attack on our bourgeois sensibilities.
(The soundtrack, by the way, consists mostly of dangerously out-dated glam-rock material from the 70' ies. Painful stuff!) Call me flippant, but I didn't feel like hitting a drug dealer, or tearing the social fabric after watching this movie. Perhaps it should have hurt more. Even so, it's a fabulous film by a unique director.
The main character is Joe, a jobless reformed alcoholic in Glasgow with a heart of gold. In the attempt to better the lot of those around him, (and forget his self-loathing) Joe organizes a football team and makes house-calls on those in need of support, especially Liam and Sabine, a young couple in dire straits. Liam owes 500 pounds to the local drug-dealer, and Sabine has likewise racked up a debt. Joe tries his best to offer help, but when he is forced to perform a criminal act, he runs the risk of losing his law-abiding girl-friend into the bargain.
Joe is a character whom you instantly like. Even his transgressions won't make you think the worse of him, as he quite obviously suffers from what he's done. Joe wants to lead a "normal" life, stay on the right side of the law, get a girlfriend and what have you. But he just can't juggle off his past as a drunkard, he can't get off the dole and so hasn't the means to move away from his run-down apartment, his rotten little suburb. His only hope is to get someone to love him, someone to lift him out of the rut, to boost his self-esteem.
It is, for sure, a touching, humane story, beautifully scripted, shot in a simple style, and with a wonderful central performance by Peter Mullan. My question is, is it more? Is MNIJ a valid comment on deprived communities in Britain today? Do there still exist working class ethics like the ones Loach depicts in this movie? And are they still as relevant as when Britain was poor back in the 60' ies, the decade of Loach's first movies?
Granted, there are still poor, neglected people aplenty, but do they behave like this? This movie seems a little on the soft side compared to say Gillian MacKinnon's "Small faces", and even "Trainspotting". "MNIJ, I feel, is more of a self-contained Chekhovian drama than an attack on our bourgeois sensibilities.
(The soundtrack, by the way, consists mostly of dangerously out-dated glam-rock material from the 70' ies. Painful stuff!) Call me flippant, but I didn't feel like hitting a drug dealer, or tearing the social fabric after watching this movie. Perhaps it should have hurt more. Even so, it's a fabulous film by a unique director.
very very very impressive
saskia-sch15 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I finally got the DVD today in the mail, so I could watch this film. Now I'm from the Netherlands and my English is pretty good, but my Scottisch is not so good (thank god for the subtitles lol). But, I did get the general message, which is pretty global. What Joe is dealing with, trying to stay sober and creating a good life for himself and his "family". Its very recognizable.
The acting was brilliant, and very very honest and realistic. There just aren't enough films like these. One's with REAL stories to tell, real life stories. What is so wrong with watching reality? Normal life is hard enough, and its OK to show that. We don't always have to see all the glitter and glamour of Hollywood.
People go see this film, if I had ten thumbs, I would give him ten thumbs UP.
Thank you Mr. Mullan and all the others working on this film for this beautiful honest film.
The acting was brilliant, and very very honest and realistic. There just aren't enough films like these. One's with REAL stories to tell, real life stories. What is so wrong with watching reality? Normal life is hard enough, and its OK to show that. We don't always have to see all the glitter and glamour of Hollywood.
People go see this film, if I had ten thumbs, I would give him ten thumbs UP.
Thank you Mr. Mullan and all the others working on this film for this beautiful honest film.
An insightful film which resonates with truths about the harsher aspects of today's society
jeanjeannie3819 September 2000
"My Name is Joe" is a film in which the complexities of social issues are explored to reveal unpalatable truths. It seems some people can find themselves in situations in which all their choices are wrong ones! This film pulls no punches and is totally believable. Perceptively cast this is a film full of poignancy and depth. "My Name is Joe" is Ken Loach at his very best.
Not one of Ken Loach's finest moments
tdunmore7 December 1998
Ken Loach seems to be ploughing the same trough again and again. My Name Is Joe is a well-made, occasionally funny and sometimes moving film, but it does nothing that his other films don't do better. A recovering alcoholic tries to help out junkies on a Scottish housing scheme: ok, it's not trying to be as glamorous as Trainspotting, but if you compare it with the fantastic TV series Looking After Jo Jo, it is saying nothing new. Ultimately, TV is where this piece belongs: I would advise people to wait for the small screen showing rather than shelling out to see it at the cinema.
A Tragedy of modern working and not-working class Scots
cdegler8 November 1999
Only English Language Film I've ever seen that required English subtitles. Modern realism at its best. Not a scene, comment, or subplot out of place. Powerful acting and action. A story of people without choices in life that reaches a terrible climax, exploring without pity or sentimentality the dilemmas of taking moral action. Funny to boot!
A Bleak Report of Gentle Light
ilpohirvonen31 December 2012
Kenneth Loach is known for his social conviction and sense of responsibility for the community and ever since his debut "Poor Cow" (1967) he hasn't let the viewer down. In his 13th feature film "My Name Is Joe" (1998) Loach offers not only a realistic look at the problems of contemporary society but also in a compassionate, heart-warming tone, still leaving the viewer with a rather gloomy mood. Such emotional contrast was probably due to the fact that the reign of Margaret Thatcher had been over for 8 years and the workers' party had experienced a new rise. Hence the film manages to be both a dreary yet essential look at the past -- as if to show what really happened during Thatcher's unpleasant years of conservatism -- and a comment on how the new movement hasn't attained any concrete changes in the desolate condition.
The title protagonist of the film is Joe, an unemployed alcoholic, who begins a mundane romance with a social service woman. However, "My Name Is Joe" isn't a love story nor a wholesome portrayal of a character's life. It's precisely a fragment from the everyday life of an ordinary person. It tries not to highlight (though Loach falls to banality every now and then) nor to embellish. The title first refers to Joe's introduction at the AA-club but later on gains a significance of him opening himself, honestly and without an act of performance, to others.
In the same way as Joe, Loach is ready to show us the real conditions of the working class, without an act of embellishment. By a naturalist approach, he depicts the desolate circumstances in which alcoholism and drug addiction are immediate and inevitable reactions. They reveal a wider social phenomenon rather than the weakness of the individual.
Although the film isn't a film of sheer brilliance nor the masterpiece to define British cinema, it remains as a small sympathetic piece of work which won't disappoint the viewer and therefore doesn't leave much room for excessive criticism.
The title protagonist of the film is Joe, an unemployed alcoholic, who begins a mundane romance with a social service woman. However, "My Name Is Joe" isn't a love story nor a wholesome portrayal of a character's life. It's precisely a fragment from the everyday life of an ordinary person. It tries not to highlight (though Loach falls to banality every now and then) nor to embellish. The title first refers to Joe's introduction at the AA-club but later on gains a significance of him opening himself, honestly and without an act of performance, to others.
In the same way as Joe, Loach is ready to show us the real conditions of the working class, without an act of embellishment. By a naturalist approach, he depicts the desolate circumstances in which alcoholism and drug addiction are immediate and inevitable reactions. They reveal a wider social phenomenon rather than the weakness of the individual.
Although the film isn't a film of sheer brilliance nor the masterpiece to define British cinema, it remains as a small sympathetic piece of work which won't disappoint the viewer and therefore doesn't leave much room for excessive criticism.
Of Addiction, Recovery, The Choices We Make And The Ones Thrown Upon Us
Rodrigo_Amaro16 October 2022
Just when I thought that films revolving around addiction and recovery couldn't surprise or get my full attention anymore, then came Ken Loach's "My Name Is Joe", a
movie I heard about for some time but only now I managed to watch it. Though Loach is a great director with an extensive body of work dealing with strong social/political
themes in UK who usually are downers and depressive ("I, Daniel Blake", "Hidden Agenda" and "The Wind That Shakes the Barley"), maybe because I considered the theme he was
about to deal with and how he usually ends his movies - mostly written by Paul Laverty - I stayed away from it, but always inclined to watch. As quite a surprise, in some
ways this is Loach's most hopeful and romantic film ("Jimmy's Hall" gets near that) but there's plenty of downer moments. Just don't let it stop you from watching
because there are plenty of worthy and valuable things to learn, both about life and also about the power of cinema.
Joe Kavanagh (Peter Mullan) leads a quiet life in Glasgow, taking the local soccer player team in games, and helping everyone in need. But Joe also happens to be an alcoholic in recovery for a couple of months. Since he tells right on the first scene during his AA meeting, and later on we have this portrayal of such a good natured man with a big heart he is, we wonder about the personal tragedy in his life that made him look at life and say "I can't drink anymore". It's usually a personal decision or the intervention from family and friends, forced or not. But that's his life, he's trying to change really hard, by also becoming the sponsor of a young addict (David McKay) who's following the program with him, trying to stay away from problem. Another good chance of shot at redemption comes from Sarah Downie (Louise Goodall), a health worker who checks out the kid's life and his family and Joe soon feels romantically interested on her.
In between dates and nights out, a relationship begins and little by little we fall in love with those characters. They feel genuine, real, and their goodness is such a breath of fresh air in terms of cinema and of life that for a moment you start to believe in people who have those kind of approach in personal relations, helping each other, being thoughtful and all.
As everything goes well, Joe doesn't drink and keeps his routine avoiding habits and people from using days, but he cannot escape the place, that poor part of Glasgow where addiction is present in certain places, very near him. And the unexpected turning point for Joe comes in the form of being too selfless and his empathy and care for the young addict. The kid's girlfriend happens to be a drug addict who haven't quit her habit days and her use put the young man at risk after using drugs he was supposed to sell.
And that becomes Joe's crusade in saving himself, saving the kid and finding love, even though there might be a risk of losing it. Will he ever be able to help the kid without having a relapse? Wouldn't it be better to become just a hero of himself rather than maybe a martyr for others? What is the best choice? Be ready for some challenging thoughts.
Since that kind of thematic is close to home on certain levels, I felt really strong about the characters, their situations, their up's and down's with a high intensity. Sure, there's plenty of great humored moments where you can feel at ease and have some laugh, then there's also the very mature relationship between Joe and Sarah, but it was the dramatic dark elements that got me fully immersed. Joe is put in such a tough situation without alternatives, and we as audience keep struggling to find one when the scenario is presented to him. And throughout his journey you'll keep asking yourself about Joe's choices and what would affect him or others had he acted differently.
Laverty and Loach compose a film filled with heart, urgency, and one that can transform lives. Unlike his more politically themed films, this is possibly his most accessible work since "Kes".
I simply loved this movie, nothing wrong with it. I loved every bit of surprise possible. Peter Mullan is a phenomenal lead actor with a breathtaking performance, well-deserved of his Best Actor prize in Cannes; and Louise Goodall is just as a fascinating. And there's also Gary Lewis as Joe's best mate and David Hayman. Apart from them, most of the other actors are local people from the city. I'm taking this movie for life, as a powerful experience as cinema can bring to affect life in a positive way, even if the outcome desired goes different than what we think. 10/10
P. S.: Shoutout to the filmmakers from making Joe's team to wear Brazil jersey on their final game. That was a huge hilarious moment.
Joe Kavanagh (Peter Mullan) leads a quiet life in Glasgow, taking the local soccer player team in games, and helping everyone in need. But Joe also happens to be an alcoholic in recovery for a couple of months. Since he tells right on the first scene during his AA meeting, and later on we have this portrayal of such a good natured man with a big heart he is, we wonder about the personal tragedy in his life that made him look at life and say "I can't drink anymore". It's usually a personal decision or the intervention from family and friends, forced or not. But that's his life, he's trying to change really hard, by also becoming the sponsor of a young addict (David McKay) who's following the program with him, trying to stay away from problem. Another good chance of shot at redemption comes from Sarah Downie (Louise Goodall), a health worker who checks out the kid's life and his family and Joe soon feels romantically interested on her.
In between dates and nights out, a relationship begins and little by little we fall in love with those characters. They feel genuine, real, and their goodness is such a breath of fresh air in terms of cinema and of life that for a moment you start to believe in people who have those kind of approach in personal relations, helping each other, being thoughtful and all.
As everything goes well, Joe doesn't drink and keeps his routine avoiding habits and people from using days, but he cannot escape the place, that poor part of Glasgow where addiction is present in certain places, very near him. And the unexpected turning point for Joe comes in the form of being too selfless and his empathy and care for the young addict. The kid's girlfriend happens to be a drug addict who haven't quit her habit days and her use put the young man at risk after using drugs he was supposed to sell.
And that becomes Joe's crusade in saving himself, saving the kid and finding love, even though there might be a risk of losing it. Will he ever be able to help the kid without having a relapse? Wouldn't it be better to become just a hero of himself rather than maybe a martyr for others? What is the best choice? Be ready for some challenging thoughts.
Since that kind of thematic is close to home on certain levels, I felt really strong about the characters, their situations, their up's and down's with a high intensity. Sure, there's plenty of great humored moments where you can feel at ease and have some laugh, then there's also the very mature relationship between Joe and Sarah, but it was the dramatic dark elements that got me fully immersed. Joe is put in such a tough situation without alternatives, and we as audience keep struggling to find one when the scenario is presented to him. And throughout his journey you'll keep asking yourself about Joe's choices and what would affect him or others had he acted differently.
Laverty and Loach compose a film filled with heart, urgency, and one that can transform lives. Unlike his more politically themed films, this is possibly his most accessible work since "Kes".
I simply loved this movie, nothing wrong with it. I loved every bit of surprise possible. Peter Mullan is a phenomenal lead actor with a breathtaking performance, well-deserved of his Best Actor prize in Cannes; and Louise Goodall is just as a fascinating. And there's also Gary Lewis as Joe's best mate and David Hayman. Apart from them, most of the other actors are local people from the city. I'm taking this movie for life, as a powerful experience as cinema can bring to affect life in a positive way, even if the outcome desired goes different than what we think. 10/10
P. S.: Shoutout to the filmmakers from making Joe's team to wear Brazil jersey on their final game. That was a huge hilarious moment.
My review.
wrightiswright21 May 2019
Great acting from Peter Mullan especially, but the whole cast puts in a shift. The accents can be hard to understand, so it's a shame there's no subs option. The movie really captures some of the most scabby Glasgow estates, thank goodness I don't live there. The ending seems a bit abrupt, I would've liked to see more. Overall though, a moving and at times funny drama that'll keep you glued 'til the end. 7/10
When the failure of one is another's tragedy...
ElMaruecan8223 September 2021
Now, that I can count the number of Loach films I saw with more than one hand's fingers, I'm put into that position where I appreciate both his constancy in tone and style and his capability to surprise his viewers. "My Name is Joe" did satisfy me on that level.
This another exploration of the working class, the non-working part of it for that matter, through one of these characters that are impossible to forget and even more to dislike. As proud Scottish and not-too proud former alcoholic, Joe Kavanagh is a man who cuts immediately straight to your heart. The film opens with a long monologue where he explains that he was in denial in the first AA meeting but not the second... five years later. The epiphany came with the kind of incident that would be deemed today as simply unforgivable.
Now, why does Loach start with that?
Because, once again, this is his style. Even from his groundbreaking "Cathy Come Home", Loach knows that no one's better than the main protagonist to talk about himself, for even the words that shouldn't be taken at face value would say something about eventual insecurities or weaknesses. But Joe doesn't sugarcoat anything, he says what he was and states in front of an assembly of other AA that it's been 10 months without drinking and that the road is still long. There's a lot of smoking in that room and I'm not sure it's coincidental, sometimes the best way to abandon an addiction is to stick to a "lesser" one. Anyway, the point is made: Joe, wonderfully played by Mullan, strikes as an honest man who speaks the truth in such an open-hearted way that we know he might not have been perfect but that he's trying hard to reconquer his self-pride makes him decent... and good enough.
The rest of the film proves our instinct right, he manages a little local team who, among its players, counts a long-suffering diminutive guy named Liam (David Mackie). He's a former junky with the kind of debt whose options would either destroy you on the longer or shorter term. Joe doesn't know how serious Liam's troubles are but when he sees him getting regularly beaten by some hooligans, he doesn't interfere, he knows he wants to stay clean from that world he knows too much, the least he can do is give advice. Meanwhile, he meets Sarah Downie, a doctor and social worker, played by Louise Goddal. In her own way, she's the female equivalent of Joe, minus the past (and even that is left uncertain), she cares about people among which Liam's wife Sabine (Anne-Marie Kennedy) and her son. Little does she know how disastrous is Sabine's situation too.
Maybe it's too early to mention Liam and Sabine because the whole first act could belong to a romantic comedy, not the genre that made Loach' legacy, but this is truly how it works. From the first encounters and exchanges of quips to the little help offered by Joe and his friend Shanks (Gary Lewis) to paint and wallpaper her house and that incident with the welfare agent that took photographs of him providing the film's signature moment with Joe carrying the painting bucket. Loach cleverly toys with our expectations and the credit goes to Paul Laverty's screenplay, when Joe and Sarah share a pizza for dinner, Joe says he doesn't drink, the warmth is lost and so he leaves. When she pays him, it's a remuneration but when she sends a letter to the welfare agency saying that she didn't, that's the act of a friend. This prompts Joe to invite her for a bowling game, later he reveals the reason why he stopped drinking, the night after they kiss and become lovers.
The point is made: the whole relationship between Joe and Sarah is based on honesty. And the trick is that they care for people who can't get away with honesty. Sarah would but Joe...
Why did I mention Liam and Sabine then? Simply because the romance between Joe and Sarah don't follow the usual formula. Generally, there's an incident within the couple that undermines their relationship, but it comes from one of them. In this film - and that's the film's surprise- the troubles are already set-up when Joe and Sarah fall in love. It's a Damocles sword that falls upon Joe who can't make a choice between Sarah and Liam because this is a life-and-death situation. It's interesting because Joe's actually a passive character, even when he chooses to pay Liam's debt by working for McGowan (David Hayman) it's not even a choice. You know the word for a character who's only got bad options.
And Joe is even more tragic because he's such a nice and lovable lad, full of charm and humor, with the kind of charisma that could elevate his status and Sarah can see it. His misfortune is inherited from a past that's not even his own. And as the narrative progresses and we can predict some developments here and there, fights or eventual reconciliations, maybe a relapse in drinking, Loach makes things escalate to a climax where I was incapable to figure out what would happen. And that doesn't happen in every movie. This is a film that escapes cinematic narrative conventions and even the resolution of the climax (for there's always one, happy or tragic) is both surprising and not, and even more powerful because it makes sense within the framework of that harrowing journey of people trying to escape from a past that runs a little faster.
This is why "My Name is Joe" is such a powerful Loach experience and Mullan's acting is the salt that gives its full flavor, a performance that the Oscars overlook so many times but at least the Cannes Festival proved to have a better judgment.
This another exploration of the working class, the non-working part of it for that matter, through one of these characters that are impossible to forget and even more to dislike. As proud Scottish and not-too proud former alcoholic, Joe Kavanagh is a man who cuts immediately straight to your heart. The film opens with a long monologue where he explains that he was in denial in the first AA meeting but not the second... five years later. The epiphany came with the kind of incident that would be deemed today as simply unforgivable.
Now, why does Loach start with that?
Because, once again, this is his style. Even from his groundbreaking "Cathy Come Home", Loach knows that no one's better than the main protagonist to talk about himself, for even the words that shouldn't be taken at face value would say something about eventual insecurities or weaknesses. But Joe doesn't sugarcoat anything, he says what he was and states in front of an assembly of other AA that it's been 10 months without drinking and that the road is still long. There's a lot of smoking in that room and I'm not sure it's coincidental, sometimes the best way to abandon an addiction is to stick to a "lesser" one. Anyway, the point is made: Joe, wonderfully played by Mullan, strikes as an honest man who speaks the truth in such an open-hearted way that we know he might not have been perfect but that he's trying hard to reconquer his self-pride makes him decent... and good enough.
The rest of the film proves our instinct right, he manages a little local team who, among its players, counts a long-suffering diminutive guy named Liam (David Mackie). He's a former junky with the kind of debt whose options would either destroy you on the longer or shorter term. Joe doesn't know how serious Liam's troubles are but when he sees him getting regularly beaten by some hooligans, he doesn't interfere, he knows he wants to stay clean from that world he knows too much, the least he can do is give advice. Meanwhile, he meets Sarah Downie, a doctor and social worker, played by Louise Goddal. In her own way, she's the female equivalent of Joe, minus the past (and even that is left uncertain), she cares about people among which Liam's wife Sabine (Anne-Marie Kennedy) and her son. Little does she know how disastrous is Sabine's situation too.
Maybe it's too early to mention Liam and Sabine because the whole first act could belong to a romantic comedy, not the genre that made Loach' legacy, but this is truly how it works. From the first encounters and exchanges of quips to the little help offered by Joe and his friend Shanks (Gary Lewis) to paint and wallpaper her house and that incident with the welfare agent that took photographs of him providing the film's signature moment with Joe carrying the painting bucket. Loach cleverly toys with our expectations and the credit goes to Paul Laverty's screenplay, when Joe and Sarah share a pizza for dinner, Joe says he doesn't drink, the warmth is lost and so he leaves. When she pays him, it's a remuneration but when she sends a letter to the welfare agency saying that she didn't, that's the act of a friend. This prompts Joe to invite her for a bowling game, later he reveals the reason why he stopped drinking, the night after they kiss and become lovers.
The point is made: the whole relationship between Joe and Sarah is based on honesty. And the trick is that they care for people who can't get away with honesty. Sarah would but Joe...
Why did I mention Liam and Sabine then? Simply because the romance between Joe and Sarah don't follow the usual formula. Generally, there's an incident within the couple that undermines their relationship, but it comes from one of them. In this film - and that's the film's surprise- the troubles are already set-up when Joe and Sarah fall in love. It's a Damocles sword that falls upon Joe who can't make a choice between Sarah and Liam because this is a life-and-death situation. It's interesting because Joe's actually a passive character, even when he chooses to pay Liam's debt by working for McGowan (David Hayman) it's not even a choice. You know the word for a character who's only got bad options.
And Joe is even more tragic because he's such a nice and lovable lad, full of charm and humor, with the kind of charisma that could elevate his status and Sarah can see it. His misfortune is inherited from a past that's not even his own. And as the narrative progresses and we can predict some developments here and there, fights or eventual reconciliations, maybe a relapse in drinking, Loach makes things escalate to a climax where I was incapable to figure out what would happen. And that doesn't happen in every movie. This is a film that escapes cinematic narrative conventions and even the resolution of the climax (for there's always one, happy or tragic) is both surprising and not, and even more powerful because it makes sense within the framework of that harrowing journey of people trying to escape from a past that runs a little faster.
This is why "My Name is Joe" is such a powerful Loach experience and Mullan's acting is the salt that gives its full flavor, a performance that the Oscars overlook so many times but at least the Cannes Festival proved to have a better judgment.
My Name Is Joe
jboothmillard24 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I found this film when it shown on Film4, I knew nothing about it previously, I was attracted to watching it because of the good names in the cast, it being directed by Ken Loach (Cathy Come Home, Kes, Sweet Sixteen, Looking for Eric), and having high critic ratings. Basically, set in Scotland, Joe Kavanagh (Peter Mullan) is an unemployed former alcoholic, who regularly attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He has various friends in the neighbourhood that are doing dodgy deals, but he tries not to be part of them. He also spends time as a coach for the local football squad. One day, Joe meets Sarah Downie (Louise Goodall), a health worker, who is helping his friend Liam (David McKay) with his issues. Joe, with the help of Shanks (Gary Lewis), complete a wall papering and paint job in Sarah's flat. Later, Sarah and Joe have dinner together. There is a bottle of red wine on the table, but Joe does not drink any of the alcohol. Joe reveals to Sarah that he is an alcoholic and he has not had a drink in ten months. Joe is happy that Sarah knows and that she has been direct in her responses to him. Joe attends the Mayfield Health Centre in the hope of seeing Sarah and inviting her on a date, they talk a little and he asks her to call if she fancies doing something together. Sarah speaks with her colleague, Maggie (Deacon Blue singer Lorraine McIntosh), she says that Joe seems a bit wild. Sarah and Joe go tenpin bowling together and they later go back to Sarah's place. She offers him a cup of tea which he politely refuses, they have a friendly argument, during which Sarah locks herself out of her flat. They move on and go to Joe's place, where he tells a story of how he was desperate for a drink one day and what transpired. When Sarah asks him what made him stop drinking, Joe is scared to tell her and that there is a strong chance that she will hate him if he does. Joe explains that there was a girl he used to drink with, and they loved one another. A flashback reveals that one night, in his drunken state, he lost control and beat her by punching and kicking her, while she lay helpless. He blacked out the following day, but he now remembers what he did. He states how ashamed and disgusted he is with himself and has not yet forgiven himself for his actions. Joe meanwhile tries to help Liam who is trying to go clean after a long period of drugtaking, but he still owes money to dealers and other criminals who are threatening him. In a later scene, Joe gives Sarah a pair of earrings, as well as a ring. Sarah tells him that she does not want the ring and Joe cannot understand what he has done wrong. Sarah later arrives at his place and apologises, laughing at the fact that he angrily threw away the ring, they reconcile and embrace. Later, Joe is shocked with his unwitting role in a robbery with his mates, but he still acts as the get-away driver. Joe confronts criminal McGowan (David Hayman) about his involvement in the robbery and the threats against Liam, but this does not help. Meanwhile, Sarah reveals to her co-worker Maggie that she is pregnant. At Sarah's flat, she expresses her reservations about Joe's dealings with Liam. Joe tells her that there are some things that she does not need to know. Sarah accuses Joe of being a drug dealer, asking where he got the money for the earrings and ring, she is angry that she accepted the money from the gang. After trying to talk to Liam, Joe returns to his flat with bottle of alcohol. He pours himself a drink and takes a sip. Liam then goes to Joe's flat, where Joe is very inebriated and becomes hostile towards him. Liam witnesses members of the gang coming towards the premises and feeling that there is nowhere to go he improvises a noose and hangs himself out of the window. Joe suddenly snaps awake and realises that Liam has taken his own life. It ends with Joe and Sarah attending Liam's funeral. Also starring Anne-Marie Kennedy as Sabine, Scott Hannah as Scott, and David Peacock as Hooligan. Mullan gives a good performance as the recovering alcoholic who becomes romantically involved with a health service worker, but their relationship is constantly challenged by his addiction and the Glaswegian underworld. I'm relieved it was not all doom and gloom, drink and drugs, there are the light-hearted character interactions, with some amusing moments, and obviously the love story is pleasant. I must be honest and say that I could not completely follow everything going on, especially not the criminal activities, and strong Scottish accents made a little tricky to understand, and I do not know if I can agree with critics giving a full five out of five stars, but it is not a bad drama. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best British Film. Worth watching, in my opinion!
My Name Is Joe's core is unbearably moving and tender.
walshio15 December 1998
"Did I give a monkeys
Did I f*ck
I did not give a toss." Joe (Peter Mullan) exclaims to his AA meeting.
Loach, along with Mike Leigh and Alan Bennett, is Britain's finest social commentator, and here he is at his uncompromising best. Searing, emotional, gritty, of course, and this time marvellously romantic and cohesive too.
Set in a Glasgow landscape not a million miles away from the most deprived areas of Eastern Europe, unemployed Joe (Mullan, who deservedly won the best actor prize at Cannes) is a recovering alcoholic who spends his evenings at AA meetings and his afternoons coaching football with his mates Liam (David McKay) and Shanks (Gary Lewis). The football team shenanigans provide the film with its premium comic moments:
"I've been Franz Beckenbauer for f***ing years by the way," exclaims Joe's bald forward. "If you're Franz Beckenbauer, I'm the tooth fairy," counters the referee.
A group of men acting like boys, swearing over each other, playing hopeless football and resorting to stealing a new Brazilian kit - their scenes are very reminiscent of Loach's Raining Stones.
The main storyline concerns Joe's love of Sarah (Louise Goodall), and their entanglement with Liam and his heroin-addicted wife. Full of vitality but long unattached, Joe is drawn to Sarah a health worker for social services, but hesitates to ask her out: "Here I am just getting my act together, off the juice, the first peace of mind in years, bloody hell, what happens ambushed by a woman!", he exclaims.
My Name Is Joe's core is unbearably moving and tender. The bonding between Joe and Sarah is mature, witty, realistic and far better than anything Hollywood has produced in over thirty years. Two superb leading performances.
However, the sweetness soon gets kicked aside by a series of seemingly unstoppable and depressing events, which Joe finds himself bound to. As he pleads to Sarah, "I didn't have a F***ING choice." Loach is saying that none of these people have a choice in this Dickensian landscape bereft of jobs.
My Name is Joe is about dependence, redemption, shame, poverty, disgust, violence and ultimately, loneliness. It doesn't possess the glamorous tint of Small Faces or Trainspotting, but it does have the best performance this year. From Peter Mullan. Fabulous.
Ben Walsh
Loach, along with Mike Leigh and Alan Bennett, is Britain's finest social commentator, and here he is at his uncompromising best. Searing, emotional, gritty, of course, and this time marvellously romantic and cohesive too.
Set in a Glasgow landscape not a million miles away from the most deprived areas of Eastern Europe, unemployed Joe (Mullan, who deservedly won the best actor prize at Cannes) is a recovering alcoholic who spends his evenings at AA meetings and his afternoons coaching football with his mates Liam (David McKay) and Shanks (Gary Lewis). The football team shenanigans provide the film with its premium comic moments:
"I've been Franz Beckenbauer for f***ing years by the way," exclaims Joe's bald forward. "If you're Franz Beckenbauer, I'm the tooth fairy," counters the referee.
A group of men acting like boys, swearing over each other, playing hopeless football and resorting to stealing a new Brazilian kit - their scenes are very reminiscent of Loach's Raining Stones.
The main storyline concerns Joe's love of Sarah (Louise Goodall), and their entanglement with Liam and his heroin-addicted wife. Full of vitality but long unattached, Joe is drawn to Sarah a health worker for social services, but hesitates to ask her out: "Here I am just getting my act together, off the juice, the first peace of mind in years, bloody hell, what happens ambushed by a woman!", he exclaims.
My Name Is Joe's core is unbearably moving and tender. The bonding between Joe and Sarah is mature, witty, realistic and far better than anything Hollywood has produced in over thirty years. Two superb leading performances.
However, the sweetness soon gets kicked aside by a series of seemingly unstoppable and depressing events, which Joe finds himself bound to. As he pleads to Sarah, "I didn't have a F***ING choice." Loach is saying that none of these people have a choice in this Dickensian landscape bereft of jobs.
My Name is Joe is about dependence, redemption, shame, poverty, disgust, violence and ultimately, loneliness. It doesn't possess the glamorous tint of Small Faces or Trainspotting, but it does have the best performance this year. From Peter Mullan. Fabulous.
Ben Walsh
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