Directed by:
Ken LoachScreenplay:
Paul LavertyCinematography:
Robbie RyanComposer:
George FentonCast:
Dave Johns, Hayley Squires, Briana Shann, Dylan McKiernan, Andy Kidd, Micky McGregor, Malcolm Shields, Harriet Ghost, Stephen Clegg, Kate Rutter, Sharon Percy (more)VOD (3)
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Ken Loach directs this drama that follows a 59-year-old joiner as he tries to navigate the British benefits system. In the North-East of England, widower Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) is forced to stop working when he is taken ill with heart disease and so applies for Employment and Support Allowance from the Government. But his life is further thrown into disarray when his benefits are suddenly taken away from him and he is forced to jump through the many hoops of the bureaucratic system to get them back. During this time, he meets the similarly-troubled single mother Katie (Hayley Squires) whose financial problems mean she is being forced out of her home in London along with her two kids Dylan and Daisy (Dylan McKiernan and Briana Shann). (Entertainment One)
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It's not Loach's best film; it's a semi-political statement that, when reading Laverty's screenplay, struck me as difficult to digest with its final appealing pathos. But Loach directed it completely civilly, chose great protagonists, and settled it with a slight irony, although, of course, the harsh indictment of a mechanized social system dominates, in which a person becomes an indecent item. The result is a difficult view of poverty, which potentially affects each of us because it is a malignant part of the system in which we live. Paradoxically, Loach must be criticized and appreciated for the consistency with which he easily idealizes his working heroes - there is nothing distorted and inauthentic about it, and there is an almost naive belief in the good of those in need. I, Daniel Blake is the best Loach since 2006, and I personally feel that this is a more vital and substantial film than The Wind That Shakes The Barley. [Cannes 2016]
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Awesome! I really enjoyed I, Daniel Blake because it deals with a topic that is more than close to my heart. To my surprise, British officials and laws are even more inhumane than ours. I also went through an interesting process when sorting out my disability pension and card. However, compared to Daniel's ordeal, it was a walk in the park. I only got stuck in a loop once and thankfully not for long. The film took me through such a wonderfully depressing story that I delved into it completely, staring open-mouthed. Dave Jones was perfectly natural as the knight without fear and beyond reproach, battling the windmills, and I believed him every word he said. Hayley Squires complemented him perfectly with her despair. I was thrilled!
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Ken Loach delivers an honest portrayal of the working-class struggle, capturing the frustrations of dealing with the British bureaucracy. I really appreciated the setting — Newcastle’s gritty vibe, the thick accents, and the banter about football. It all felt so authentic and perfectly suited to Daniel Blake’s world. Watching this film was like stepping into the life of an English bricklayer, seeing how tough things are for him, and then quietly stepping back out. It’s a solid piece of filmmaking, though perhaps a bit too raw and real at times, which is classic Ken Loach.
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It's almost tempting to say that it's just an ordinary film about how life can be complicated sometimes, but it turns out that when it's well-directed and well-acted, it will have the right effect. And it does. Ken Loach hasn't aged a bit, and being 80 in the director's chair isn’t a bad thing at all. Civil, yet great.
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Ken Loach is one of the best creators of social dramas and with this film, he has strengthened his unwavering position. The appalling, dignity-devouring bureaucratic machinery into which Daniel Blake was thrust when he lost his job due to illness and struggled to remain financially independent could not possibly be real. I am afraid, however, that this is the way things truly are at the moment. And not just in England, as it's probably similar in most "civilized" countries. While the film does have a few light moments, overall it's a heavy, frustrating, and depression-inducing experience.
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