The Last Rites of Joe May 2011

As the bus grinds to a stop in his Chicago neighborhood, Joe May (no) steps into a world that seems to have moved on in his absence. The pneumonia-induced stay in the hospital has taken its toll, and as he walks into the local tavern, the bartender’s shocked exclamation—“I thought you were dead”—strikes a painful chord, highlighting just how long he’s been gone. Meanwhile, Joe’s former landlord has lost hope and rented out his apartment to a single mother named Jenny and her young daughter, Angelina.

With no home to return to, Joe must brave the frigid Chicago night, just a thin leather jacket separating him from the biting cold as he leans against a wall, feeling vulnerable and exposed. It’s a stark contrast to the life he once had, but amidst this bleakness, he finds unexpected warmth in the company of Jenny and Angelina—their smiles offering a sliver of hope in his otherwise desolate world.

As Joe attempts to find his footing in this new chapter, he reaches out to his old friend Billy at an assisted-living facility, only to become entwined in the lives of Jenny, Angelina, and the troubling figure of Jenny’s abusive boyfriend, Buczkowski. A deep-seated disdain for the police detective simmers just beneath the surface as Joe struggles to get by, ultimately turning to a local crime lord, Lenny, in search of a financial lifeline.

When a poorly conceived plan to sell stolen meat unfolds, it triggers a chaotic series of events that leave Joe battered and worn. His health remains precarious from the pneumonia; he’s at a perilous junction—cold, broke, and drifting through life with little to cling to. However, when Jenny’s boyfriend reveals his violent nature once more, Joe taps into the remnants of his courage to intervene, but his actions may have dire consequences that alter the course of his already fragile existence.