My Name Is Joe
Encyclopedia
My Name Is Joe is a 1998
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...

 Scottish film directed by Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...

. The film stars Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...

 as Joe Kavanagh, an unemployed recovering alcoholic in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 who meets and falls in love with a health visitor. David McKay plays his troubled friend Liam. The film's title is a reference to the ritualized greeting performed in Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...

 meetings, as portrayed in the film's opening scene.

The movie was mainly filmed in the council estates of Glasgow and filling small roles with local residents, many of whom had drug and criminal pasts. The natural Scottish accents of some of the actors are unfamiliar to most American television viewers and as such the film is often shown subtitled.

The film won awards in many film festivals, including Best Actor
Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actor Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.- Award Winners :-External links:* * ....

 for Mullan at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival
1998 Cannes Film Festival
The 51st Cannes Film Festival was held on May 13-24, 1998. The Palme d'Or went to the Greek film Mia aioniotita kai mia mera by Theo Angelopoulos.- Jury :*Martin Scorsese *Alain Corneau *Chiara Mastroianni...

.

Plot summary

The film begins with Joe Kavanagh at an Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...

 meeting, relaying an experience from his past. He states the ritualised greeting: 'My name is Joe and I'm an alcoholic.' He feels that he is not in a position to drink anymore with safety. He tells the group that he copes by praying and states that he is grateful to be at the meeting. He receives a round of applause for his admissions.

He goes round to his friend's place, bangs on the door and pretends to be the police. His friends soon realise that they have been tricked. They then travel in Joe's van where they examine stolen sporting merchandise which is of low quality. Joe and his friends stop at another person's house in order to pick up more people. A car cuts off the van. Joe later encounters the driver, whom Joe later describes as being 'the woman who tried to kill us all.' He exits his van and asks the woman if she lost her guide dog
Guide dog
Guide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind and visually impaired people around obstacles.Although the dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are partially color blind and are not capable of interpreting street signs...

. Owing to the accent, many American and Canadian audiences think that Joe is speaking about a 'gay dog.' The woman, Sarah, states that she is a health visitor
Health visitor
Health visitors are UK community health nurses who have undertaken further training to work as part of a primary health care team. As their name suggests, their role is to promote mental, physical and social well-being in the community by giving advice and support to families in all age groups...

. She wants to see Liam and his child, but Joe explains that Liam has an important football game to attend.

The next shot is of the football match. Joe is very encouraging as a coach. The other team appears in white and black, which are the colours that Joe's team wears. Joe's team express their anger at this and respond by taking their shirts off so that they are able to distinguish between players. The other team scores the first goal of the game.

Joe drives Liam home and tells Liam to take things one day at a time. Liam abruptly tells Joe to pull over and Liam runs up to a male who acts aggressively towards him. Joe does not hear what transpires between Liam and the man. Later, Joe sees Sarah, who is seen struggling with wallpaper in her car. Joe appears to fancy her, as Sarah tells him her name and he flirts with her.

Joe then helps an acquaintance of Sarah's to complete a wall papering and paint job in Sarah's flat. Sarah then leaves the lads to it. She later brings them tea as they paint the ceiling and sing to themselves. They then look outside and notice someone taking photos of them through the window. Joe runs outside with his can of white paint and brush to confront the man who was taking the photos. The photographer tells Joe that he was just doing his job and that he has a bad heart. Joe then paints all over the photographer's car. The car speeds away and manages to knock over a pile of rubbish by the side of the road.

Later, Sarah and Joe have dinner together. They are able to make comfortable conversation with one another. There is a bottle of red wine on the table, but Joe does not drink any of the alcohol. Sarah's telephone rings and she leaves the kitchen to answer it. Joe is then left alone with the wine. He clears his plate and appears somewhat nervous. When Sarah finishes with her telephone conversation, Joe asks her about the photographs on her wall. Joe later reveals to Sarah that he does not drink, to which Sarah replies: 'Why didn't you say?' Joe reveals 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 thanks Sarah for her company. Sarah pays Joe for the work that he completed on her flat and they part company.

Joe attends the Mayfield Health Centre
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...

. The practice is very busy and the receptionist tries to cope with a patient who is complaining because he has been waiting a long time in order to receive his prescription
Medical prescription
A prescription is a health-care program implemented by a physician or other medical practitioner in the form of instructions that govern the plan of care for an individual patient. Prescriptions may include orders to be performed by a patient, caretaker, nurse, pharmacist or other therapist....

. Joe tells the receptionist that he would like to see Sarah. The receptionist does not appear to be surprised by his request and says that Joe is free to pop his head around the door. He sees Sarah advising parents on dealing with the changing of nappies
Diaper
A nappy or a diaper is a kind of pant that allows one to defecate or urinate on oneself discreetly. When diapers become soiled, they require changing; this process is often performed by a second person such as a parent or caregiver...

. Outside the Health Centre, Joe asks Sarah if she would like to go ten-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling is a competitive sport in which a player rolls a bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic lane with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many pins as possible.-Summary:The lane is bordered along its length by semicylindrical channels Ten-pin bowling (commonly just...

 with him and to ring him if she fancies going. They then part company. Sarah speaks with a female colleague, Maggie, and says that Joe seems a bit wild. She states that she is not going to go bowling with Joe.

The next shot is of a bowling alley, with 'Spirit in the Sky
Spirit in the Sky
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song written and originally recorded by Norman Greenbaum and released in 1969. The single sold two million copies in 1969 and 1970 and reached number three in the U.S. Billboard chart, as well as number one on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970. Rolling Stone...

' playing in the background. Sarah and Joe bowl together and laugh at their many errors. They occupy Aisle 16 and neither of them are spectacular players. They go back to Sarah's place where she asks him in for a cup of tea. Joe politely says no. Sarah offers him money for a taxi. A friendly argument ensues, at the end of which Sarah finds herself locked out of her flat. Sarah says that she can sleep in her car. Joe states that Sarah can sleep at his place, but not necessarily together.

They arrive at Joe's and he shows her around his flat. While Joe makes tea for Sarah, she asks him if it is alright to put some music on. She puts on the same piece of music that the audience heard during the opening credits of the film, Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Major (Opus 61)
Violin Concerto (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, was written in 1806.The work was premiered on 23 December 1806 in the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. Beethoven wrote the concerto for his colleague Franz Clement, a leading violinist of the day, who had earlier given him helpful advice on...

. Joe tells Sarah that he used to be in a band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

 and they won a local talent contest. Joe tells Sarah a story of how he was desperate for a drink one day and what transpired. He went to a music shop and stole some cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...

s. He took one of them home and 'got pissed.' He describes the experience as being 'magical.' When Sarah asks him what made him stop drinking, Joe asks her why she wants to know. He is not hostile, but curious. Joe says that he is scared to tell her and that there is a strong chance that she will hate him if he tells.

Joe explains that there was a girl he used to drink with and they loved one another. They were both 'just tangled up' and they used to get into terrible arguments and tear one another apart. The audience then sees a flashback where Joe and the girl are returning home from a night out. He states that 'a cloud just descended... really, really dark. And suddenly I hated her. I hated me.' He describes how he tried to open the door, but was unable to; when the partner whom he was with laughed at him, Joe lost control because she found it funny. He beat her by punching and kicking her, while she lay helpless on the ground. He screamed abuse at her. The next day, he had a blackout. Now, he remembers every punch and kick. He states how ashamed and disgusted he is with himself. He is obviously contrite and he has not yet forgiven himself for his actions. In the next shot, Sarah comforts Joe and tells him that it is okay.

The next scene is of a football match. Joe sees three men beating up Liam. Joe attempts to intervene. He helps Liam up and asks him if he is still clean
Drug detoxification
Drug detoxification is a collective of interventions directed at controlling acute drug intoxication and drug withdrawal. It refers to a purging from the body of the substances to which a patient is addicted and acutely under the influence...

. Liam states that he is. Liam confronts his wife when she comes home. He suspects that she has been using and asks her if she 'takes him for a prick.' Liam then yells that he will leave her to rot, grabs her by her neck and forces her to look at herself in the mirror.

Joe then attends Liam's flat and encounters Liam's wife shooting up
Drug injection
In substance dependence and recreational drug use, drug injection is a method of introducing a drug into the body with a hollow needle and a syringe which is pierced through the skin into the body...

 in the bathroom. An argument erupts between them. Joe offers to help her. She does not want the kind of help that Joe offers. Joe then reluctantly assists her to tie off one of her vein
Vein
In the circulatory system, veins are blood vessels that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated blood to the heart...

s so that she can shoot up. Joe tries to make sense of her incoherent mumbles as she lies prostrate in the bathtub. Joe then goes to a snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...

 club where he asks after Liam's whereabouts. Joe tells one of the men that he encounters that Liam has a four-year-old boy in an attempt to mitigate matters. Liam says that he does not want them to take liberties. He comes across Liam and is cross because Liam told him that he had stopped dealing. A tearful Liam confesses that he still owes money. Joe also tells Liam that he suspects that his wife is on the game. He is worried that people are going to break his legs.

Joe and Sarah prepare a meal together, which is interrupted when they have sex. The next day, Joe goes to Stella Maris' B & B
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...

 in order to deal with the matter of Liam. In a later scene, Joe gives Sarah a pair of earrings, as well as a ring. Joe tells Sarah that he loves her. Sarah tells him that she does not want it and Joe cannot understand what he has done wrong. Joe is confused as to why Sarah has behaved in this fashion. In the next shot, we see a copy of the Alcoholics Anonymous' small blue Bible as Joe listens to Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Major and makes notes in a book. When Sarah arrives at his door, she apologises. They drink tea together and later embrace.

Joe drives his van and his mates direct him to a place where they rob another van. At the outset, Joe does not know where they are going. Joe is shocked with his unwitting role in the robbery of Astral Sports. He still acts as the get-away driver. At the next football match, Joe cleverly remarks that the other team look like budgies
Budgerigar
The Budgerigar , also known as Common Pet Parakeet or Shell Parakeet informally nicknamed the budgie, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot, and the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus...

 because of their blue and yellow striped uniforms. Meanwhile, Sarah reveals to her co-worker Maggie that she is pregnant. Maggie congratulates her.

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. Joe outlines the limited choices that Liam faces, most of which are not pleasant. Sarah accuses Joe of being a drug dealer and asks where he got the money for her earrings and ring. Joe replies that the gang gave him some money. Sarah becomes enraged and asks, 'Are you going to hit me too, Joe?'

Joe attends Liam's flat and states that Liam must deal with things himself. Joe returns to his flat with bottles of Smirnoff Vodka. He pours himself a drink, and takes a sip. Liam then goes to Joe's flat, where Joe is very inebriated. Joe does not understand why Liam has come to see him. Joe calls Liam a 'stupid wee prick.' The alcohol has overtaken Joe and he is hostile to Liam, who needs his help. As Liam witnesses members of the gang coming towards the premises, Liam realises that Joe has passed out and he kisses Joe on his forehead. Joe suddenly snaps awake and realises that Liam has taken his own life by hanging himself.

The film concludes with Liam's funeral.

Cast

  • Peter Mullan
    Peter Mullan
    Peter Mullan is a Scottish actor and film-maker who has been appearing in films since 1990.-Early life:Mullan, the sixth of eight children, was born in Peterhead in the northeast of Scotland, the son of Patricia, a nurse, and Charles Mullan, a lab technician who worked at Glasgow University. He...

     - Joe Kavanagh
  • Louise Goodall - Sarah Downie
  • David McKay - Liam
  • Anne-Marie Kennedy - Sabine (as Annemarie Kennedy)
  • David Hayman
    David Hayman
    David Hayman is a Scottish film and television actor and director, best known for his role as DCS Mike Walker in ITV drama Trial and Retribution. He also a prominent supporter of the SNP's call for Scottish independence....

     - McGowan
  • Gary Lewis
    Gary Lewis
    Gary Lewis may refer to:* Gary Lewis , son of Jerry Lewis and lead singer of Gary Lewis & the Playboys* Gary Lewis , Scottish actor...

     - Shanks
  • Lorraine McIntosh
    Lorraine McIntosh
    Lorraine McIntosh is the female vocalist, with the Scottish pop band, Deacon Blue, and is married to lead singer Ricky Ross. They have three children...

     - Maggie
  • Scott Hannah - Scott
  • David Peacock - Hooligan
  • Gordon McMurray - Scrag
  • James McHendry - Perfume
  • Paul Clark - Zulu
  • Stephen McCole
    Stephen McCole
    Stephen McCole is a Scottish actor. McCole plays the leading role in the television black comedy High Times. McCole portrays Rab, an unemployed stoner who lives with his family in a bleak high-rise flat in Glasgow. The series, which received the 2004 BAFTA Scotland Best Drama Award, also features...

     - Mojo
  • Simon Macallum - Robbo
  • Paul Gillan - Davy

External links

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