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.

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!

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.