Matthew B
In 1993, Ken Loach made Raining Stones, a film about a man whose financial problems left him in hock to the more unpleasant members of his society until finally he sought to escape his bonds in an explosion of violent anger. In that particular film, a solution of sorts was found.
Five years later, Loach made My Name is Joe, a movie that covers similar ground, only this time he puts his hero in an impossible situation that he cannot resolve to the happiness of everyone.
The story takes place in the council estates of Glasgow. Joe Kavanagh (Peter Mullan) is, as the title suggests, a recovering alcoholic. He is attending a 12 Steps programme to help him to stay on track. Behind his decision to give up drink is a dark story that he later relates to his appalled girlfriend. His honesty with her is a risk, but one that seems to pay off.
I am not sure how the relationship between these two lovable people would have gone if events had not pushed them another way. However events are complicated by another young couple, Liam (David McKay) and Sabine (Anne-Marie Kennedy).
Liam is a recovering addict who has done time for his past offences. Sabine is still taking heroine. As a result of her habit, Liam now owes money to the local drug dealers, a group run by a heartless middle-aged crook, McGowan (David Hayman).
With Liam in physical danger from McGowan, who thinks he needs to teach the young man a lesson, Joe intervenes to rescue his friend. As Liam cannot pay his debts, Joe agrees to undertake a couple of journeys transporting drugs for McGowan. McGowan savours the chance to force the clean Joe into helping him. He even pays Joe for his work, and the hard-up Joe does not refuse the money.
From here events inevitably reach a crisis when Sarah finds out that Joe has become involved with McGowan, and she no longer wishes to see him. Joe is faced with a terrible predicament. If he continues to help McGowan, he will save Liam and lose Sarah. If he refuses to help McGowan any longer, he might persuade Sarah to return to him, but Liam's life may be at stake.
Loach portrays a world in which the system is failing people. An overworked doctor's surgery cannot accommodate difficult patients such as Sabine, and she is asked to leave. An addict in need of help falls through the cracks in the system.
The police cannot protect poor people from drug dealers and loan sharks, especially since many of those people have been forced to resort to crimes themselves in order to keep going. A few hours of work is enough to cause Joe to lose his benefits for a week. Those members of society who exist at the bottom are trapped in impossible circumstances, and there can be no miracle at the end to save them.
Whatever the fate of Ken Loach's characters, there is no doubt that he cares for them, and that he encourages us to do the same. His films have a warm humanity, and a compassion for the powerless members of society who struggle (with varying success) to thrive and succeed in a world that is harder than it should be.
Loach's films portray affectionate bonds, and acts of small but significant kindness. They also include scenes of anger and violence. In My Name is Joe, the f-word is heard 230 times. The characters rail at each other and at the system that keeps them down. Loach believes that they have much to be angry about.
The cast are not mere actors posing as ordinary people. The leading roles are played by professional actors, it is true, but the supporting cast members are playing themselves. Joe's football team is played by local residents, many of whom had a background in crime and drug addiction. In the film's opening Alcoholic Anonymous scene, we see members of a real AA group.
This reflects the fact that Ken Loach was part of the neo-realist tradition of film-making. He wanted to make films that were as authentic as possible. The acting is naturalistic. There is no room for theatrical flair. The colour scheme of the film is washed-out and drab, with no bright and attractive colours. The music score is low-key, and not intended to do more than lightly underline the action.
However Loach is not obsessively neo-realist. The film has an artistic structure. There is a clear beginning and end to the events that he shows, albeit with loose ends. The story is intended to convey a message. Unusually for a Ken Loach movie, My Name is Joe includes a flashback that briefly breaks the documentary-style realism that he usually aims to achieve.
Overall though, Ken Loach sticks to the vision of film-making that he created in early films such as Kes. We may deplore his lack of development, or we may admire the extent to which he has tuned his particular philosophy of moviemaking into a fine art. What cannot be doubted is Ken Loach's integrity and humanity as a film-maker.
I wrote a longer appreciation of My Name is Joe on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2020/10/04/my-name-is-joe-1998/
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
08/30/23
Full Review
Leaburn
#BFI top 100. This film was depressing. 🤏
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
12/11/22
Full Review
Audience Member
Ken Loach fa scuola e non sbaglia mai un colpo.
Prende personaggi improbabili per essere protagonisti di un film, ne racconta la vita, ordinaria, cruda e vera e li rende delle opere d'arte in movimento.
Il marchio del regista è inconfondibile e spostandosi lungo la Gran Bretagna, riesce a scovare storie diverse tra loro ma allo stesso tempo simili; non ci sono divi di Hollywood ad interpretare i protagonisti, non c'è un villain spietato e affascinante, non c'è l'eroico protagonista che si redime.
C'è la realtà della vita, i difetti delle persone e la speranza di arrivare alla fine della giornata.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/12/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I made it halfway through episode one and I'm done. He's on the 10 most wanted list and I only have one NF team watching her house on her birthday? They haven't rented the apartment next-door? How does she pay for the funeral? How is she paying for anything? The cops don't monitor the funeral? This is just so dumb
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
02/18/23
Full Review
William L
The greatest part of My Name is Joe is its ability to atually surprise the audience with where its narrative ultimately ends up; the film seems bound and determined to be a wholesome moral redemption story of a blue-collar everyman (literally, an average Joe) walking back from addiction and a criminal past and serving as an example to others. There is a sweet little romance, some local camraderie, the character is reinforced with the sort of character details that inspire empathy, like a passion for a losing football team. But instead, the protagonist finds his own established reclamation threatened by the most tenuous of connections with his old life, which ultimately bring disaster to him and make his fall from grace all the more bitter, due to virtually no fault of his own apart from a desire to save those dear to him. The film carries a very distinctively Scottish identity hammered home by some wonderfully candid dialogue, but also carries a surprisingly darkly comic tone early in the runtime, particularly from Goodall's Sarah and her bluntly delivered, unorthodox health tips, like putting leaves of cabbage on the nipples. Functions very well in rectifying its varying tones and delivers an unexpectedly dark ending that leaves the viewer unsure about the outcome until the final few minutes. (3.5/5)
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
12/08/20
Full Review
Audience Member
I had to force myself to watch this film as anything with "romance" as one of the genres of the film turns me way off but This ain't your run of the mill romantic-drama film. The film starts off as a light toned romantic comedy and is very easy to watch. As the film wares on it gets more and more brutal and out of hand and the tone gets very dark later In the film. This film is shocking in the way It changes so quickly and the moods rapidly swing. This film is definitely one of a kind and I highly recommend it a 5/5 for me.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
Full Review
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