My Name Is Joe
1998
Peter Mullan (ORPHANS, MISS JULIE) won the Best Actor award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for his performance as Joe Kavanagh, a recovering alcoholic in his late thirties. Like half the people in his impoverished Glasgow neighborhood, he's unemployed and struggles to get by between odd jobs and the dole, along with coaching .. Read more
| Starring | Peter Mullan, Louise Goodall, David McKay, Gary Lewis |
|---|---|
| Director | Ken Loach |
| Genres | Drama |
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My Name Is Joe
Peter Mullan (ORPHANS, MISS JULIE) won the Best Actor award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for his performance as Joe Kavanagh, a recovering alcoholic in his late thirties. Like half the people in his impoverished Glasgow neighborhood, he's unemployed and struggles to get by between odd jobs and the dole, along with coaching a ragtag soccer team largely consisting of delinquents. As difficult as his life may seem, he's buoyed by a willed optimism that he realizes is the only alternative to reverting to his addiction. When he's caught by a niggling unemployment official while doing the odd wallpapering job for social worker-nurse Sarah Downie (Louise Goodall), she helps to keep him from losing his sinecure. The two soon begin a tentative relationship, but Joe remains connected to his former life through his young friend Liam (David McKay), an ex-con and former addict. Mullan is utterly believable as another of social realist director Ken Loach's characters attempting to negotiate the tough climate of 1980s Great Britain.
| Starring | Peter Mullan, Louise Goodall, David McKay, Gary Lewis, Anne Marie Kennedy |
|---|---|
| Director | Ken Loach |
| Studio | FILM 4 |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 40 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: 01 May 2002 Production year: 1998 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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This trawl through the Glaswegian underworld by director Ken Loach tells the story of Joe (Peter Mullan), a recovering alcoholic who falls in love with a social worker (Louise Goodall). However, his past comes back to haunt him when he vainly tries to help a young friend and his junkie wife who are being threatened by local gangsters. Downbeat and buoyant by turns, Loach's poignant drama boasts laugh-out-loud moments and a host of splendid performances. Mullan won the best actor prize at Cannes.
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Grim, compassionate account of deprivation, and the desperation of poverty, in which only the energy of Mullan's performance offers any optimism for the future.
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Most helpful member's review
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14 out of 14 people found this review helpful
Heart of Glasgow
This film reverberates with echoes of Glasgow that travel brochures never talk about. Men just like Joe are everywhere and nowhere.
It's hysterically funny at times but the sour-plumes of life are never far from the surface. You will not need sub-titles to understand this film. Just look in Peter Mullan's eyes. -
Most recent members' review
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
Mullan is outstanding.
For me this film delves into the soul of Glasgow and finds good people who are victims of poverty. Very moving in parts but also very funny which for me kind of sums up Glasgow. Peter Mullan is outstanding as Joe. He brings an energy to the film and really drives it along.
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News and features
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Looking For Eric
- 11 Jun 2009
Right, so, first things first: Eric Cantona is actually IN this film – it’s not just footie footage, or some clever CGI jiggery-pokery to make it look like he was there. I rather doubt that director Ken Loach has much truck with all that computerised mucking about anyway. Because this is very definitely a Ken Loach film. There’s the kitchen-sink realism of Carla’s Song or My Name Is Joe and the unflinching script of The Wind That Shakes The Barley, as we meet Eric... Read more
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