I, Daniel Blake
I, Daniel Blake is a 2016 drama film directed by Ken Loach and written by longtime collaborator Paul Laverty. It stars Dave Johns as Daniel Blake, who is denied employment and support allowance despite his doctor finding him unfit to work. Hayley Squires co-stars as Katie, a struggling single mother whom Daniel befriends.
The film won the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, the Prix du public at the 2016 Locarno International Film Festival, and the 2017 BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film.
Plot
Widower Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old joiner from Newcastle, has had a heart attack. Though his cardiologist has not allowed him to return to work, Daniel is deemed fit to do so after a work capability assessment and denied employment and support allowance. He is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about the decision, and applies for an appeal, a process he finds difficult because he must complete forms online and is not computer literate.Daniel befriends single mother Katie after she is sanctioned for arriving late for a Jobcentre appointment. Katie and her children have just moved to Newcastle from a London homeless shelter, as there is no affordable accommodation in London. Daniel helps the family by repairing objects, teaching them how to heat rooms without electricity, and crafting wooden toys for the children.
During a visit to a food bank, Katie is overcome by hunger and breaks down. After she is caught shoplifting at a supermarket, a security guard offers her work as a prostitute. Daniel surprises her at the brothel, where he begs her to give up the job, but she tearfully insists she has no other way to feed her children.
As a condition for receiving jobseeker's allowance, Daniel must keep looking for work. He refuses a job at a garden centre because his doctor will not allow him to work yet. When Daniel's work coach tells him he must work harder to find a job or be sanctioned, Daniel spraypaints "I, Daniel Blake, demand my appeal date before I starve" on the building. He earns the support of passersby, including other benefits claimants, but is arrested and cautioned by the police. Daniel sells most of his belongings and becomes withdrawn.
On the day of Daniel's appeal, Katie accompanies him to court. A welfare adviser tells Daniel that his case looks sound. On glimpsing the judge and doctor who will decide his case, Daniel becomes anxious and visits the lavatory, where he suffers a heart attack and dies. At his public health funeral, Katie reads the eulogy, including the speech Daniel had intended to read at his appeal. The speech describes his feelings about how the welfare system failed him by treating him like a dog instead of a man proud to have paid his dues to society.
Cast
Production
Principal photography began in October 2015 in Newcastle upon Tyne and the surrounding area. The film was produced by Rebecca O'Brien for Sixteen Films, Why Not Productions and Wild Bunch with the support of the British Film Institute and BBC Films. O’Brien initially approached Channel 4's film division for funding. After a delay O'Brien said she was told by Channel 4 that funding was not available as "we’re already covering the area because we’re doing Benefits Street".Reception
I, Daniel Blake became Loach's biggest success at the UK box office. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92%, based on 180 reviews, with an average rating of 8.01/10. The site's consensus reads: "I, Daniel Blake marks yet another well-told chapter in director Ken Loach's powerfully populist filmography." On Metacritic the film has a score of 78 out of 100 score, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".Writing for the Guardian, Mark Kermode gave the film five stars.
Legacy
In 2017, Dave Johns took a solo show up to the Edinburgh Fringe; I, Filum Star chronicled how Dave's life had changed since the success of the film, and received critical acclaim, playing to sold out rooms throughout the run. In 2019, he is touring a new show, From Byker to the BAFTAs, with 24 dates from August until November.A stand-up comedy show titled I, Tom Mayhew was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2019. Stand-up comedian Tom Mayhew had previously been on benefits for over 3 years in austerity Britain, and was inspired to write the show after watching the film. The show was critically acclaimed, with it transferring to a sold out run at the Soho Theatre in January 2020.
Political response
Former Conservative Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said I, Daniel Blake was unfair, criticising its portrayal of Jobcentre staff, saying: "This idea that everybody is out to crunch you, I think it has really hurt Jobcentre staff who don't see themselves as that." Producer Rebecca O'Brien responded that Smith "is living in cloud cuckoo land".On an episode of BBC's topical debate programme Question Time broadcast on 27 October 2016, which featured Loach as a panellist, Business Secretary Greg Clark described the film as "fictional", saying: "It's a difficult job administering a benefits system ... Department of Work and Pensions staff have to make incredibly difficult decisions and I think they should have our support in making those decisions." Loach responded by criticising the pressure that DWP staff are placed under. "We talked to hundreds of people who work at the DWP under your guidance and instructions, and they are told to sanction people," Loach said. "If they don’t sanction them, they’re in trouble." "When you’re sanctioned your life is forced into chaos, and people are going to food banks," he said. "How can we live in a society where hunger is used as a weapon?"
Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, appeared at the film's London premiere and praised the film on his Facebook page. During Prime Minister's Questions on 2 November 2016, he criticised the unfairness of the welfare system and advised Prime Minister Theresa May to watch the film.