Joe Kavanagh (Peter Mullan) is a sober alcoholic. So every precious piece of the life he has put back together for himself is a bit of grace. He goes to AA meetings. He coaches a soccer team of young guys in Glasgow. He helps other addicts and alcoholics. He collects his dole. Then he meets Sarah Downie (Louise Goodall), a social worker, and he starts to fall in love.
Special Agent Matti
Och, m' wee bairns!
I am on record for being... er... aroused by the sound of the brogue tripping from the tongue of a born and bred Scot. Getting to watch an entire film with nothing but is pure heaven even if they did put subtitles on the screen for the Americans (who can't be expected to understand foreign languages anyway, can they?) I just put the video case up against the TV screen so I couldn't see them. You should, too.
My name is Joe is a romantic tale about good guys stuck in the wrong situations. Poverty and unemployment destroy a man's soul quicker than any other of the devil's works, even the demon drink. Joe is unlucky enough to be hit by all three and then things start to go downhill...
About a week before I saw this film, I saw The debt collector while in disguise as an usher. That, too is set in Scotland and drifts around the world of the poor and the criminal, but it had a much darker and high-powered ethic. My name is Joe is just about ordinary people living ordinary lives. No-one is famous, no-one is rich: they are all just doing the best that they can. It's about people and lives rather than ideals.
Peter Mullan's downtrodden protagonist struggles under the burden of his life. For every step forward there is another one backward. His unending struggle against both hope and despair would be Jobian if it weren't so commonplace. It's great to see someone who has been cast because they can act. The supporting cast, David particularly, help Joe's journey by giving him the reasons to hope (love and samaritanism) and despair (hatred and abuse).
You have the opportunity to live this man's life, dear little spuds, and it's one you should take. It's not every day you get this sort of opportunity, gritty realism and all. You will enjoy it.
MA 15+ (Adult themes, medium level coarse language)
100 minutes (1:40 hours)
VHS rental: 12 April 2000