My Name Is Joe is a
1998 Scottish film directed by
Ken Loach. The film stars
Peter Mullan as Joe Kavanagh, an unemployed recovering alcoholic in
Glasgow 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 meetings, as portrayed in the film's opening scene.
The movie was mainly filmed in the actual slums 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 for Mullan at the
1998 Cannes Film Festival.