My Name Is Joe

The film opens with Joe at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where he recounts a painful event from his past. The confession emphasizes his ongoing struggle with addiction and foreshadows the volatility that follows. This scene sets the tone for how his sobriety will be tested by those around him.

Joe is driving to pick up Liam when they are cut off by Sarah, a health visitor connected to Liam, Sabine, and their son Scott. The encounter introduces Sarah into Joe’s orbit and signals the messy entanglements to come. The moment foreshadows the tension between Joe's world and the others' lives.

After the match, a confrontation erupts outside Liam's home as thugs threaten him and Sabine. Joe watches from a distance, sensing the danger and the possibility of relapse for Liam. The incident foreshadows the drug-related crisis looming over the group.

Joe flirts with Sarah, suggesting he could help with wallpaper and perhaps more. Later, at Sarah’s, he notices a social worker taking photos of him at work, which he believes violates welfare guidelines. His irritation hints at an emerging clash between his illicit activities and his relationships.

Overwhelmed by the perceived breach, Joe threatens the social worker and angrily damages the car with his painting supplies. The outburst demonstrates his volatile temperament when his privacy is violated. It deepens the risk of exposure to authorities and the group’s fragile trust.

During dinner, Joe reveals he is a recovering alcoholic. He then explains that he stopped drinking after brutally beating a former partner while drunk. The confession adds a grim dimension to his actions and foreshadows potential consequences of his history.

Joe is summoned to social services to answer for the welfare-policy violation. He learns that Sarah had intervened on his behalf, saying he was working as a favor rather than for money. The scene clarifies Sarah’s role in his life and sets up future conflicts about trust and boundaries.

Joe goes to the health center to thank Sarah for intervening and asks her on a date. She remains wary about mixing romance with his troubled past. Their budding relationship becomes a counterpoint to the surrounding chaos.

After the date, Sarah accidentally locks herself out of her flat, and Joe invites her to stay, insisting he isn’t trying to sleep with her. He shares stories of his past and explains why he stopped drinking, but Sarah presses for more truth. The conversation deepens their bond while hinting at unresolved issues.

The next day, the same thugs who hassled Liam reappear at the pitch and assault him again. Liam claims retaliation for a bar fight, but Joe fears he has relapsed into drugs. The violence escalates the group’s danger and Joe’s sense of responsibility grows heavier.

Sabine causes a scene at the health center by refusing to put out her cigarette and is later caught stealing a prescription pad. At home, Liam confronts Sabine about infidelity after finding condoms. Joe ends up helping Sabine inject heroin, and Liam reveals that McGowan’s men now control their debt.

Joe gives Sarah earrings and a ring, telling her that he loves her, but she rejects the ring. He cannot understand what he has done wrong and throws the ring into the river in a fit of rage. Later, Sarah tells a coworker she is pregnant, complicating the relationship further.

In a park meeting with Sabine and Liam, Sabine exposes Joe’s lie about paying McGowan, while Liam reveals Joe only obtained an extension on the payments. Sarah confronts Joe at his flat, and she discovers the gifts bought with McGowan's money. The revelations widen the rift between Joe and Sarah.

Joe refuses to complete the second job for McGowan and confronts him at the snooker hall. McGowan's thugs threaten Sarah, and Joe fights back, fully aware that he is marked for death. Later, Liam dies after attempting to rescue Joe, and at his burial Joe and Sarah walk away together, facing an uncertain future.