I, Daniel Blake

Plot

Widower Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old joiner living in Newcastle, has had a heart attack at work. Though his cardiologist has advised him not 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 is not computer literate.

Daniel befriends a single mother, Katie, after she is sanctioned for arriving late for a jobcentre appointment. Katie and her children have moved to Newcastle from a London homeless persons' hostel, with no affordable accommodation available in the capital. 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, a security guard offers her work as an escort. Daniel surprises her at the brothel, where he begs her to give up the job, but she tearfully insists she has no choice to feed her children.

As a condition for receiving jobseeker's allowance, Daniel searches for work on an industrial estate. He is offered a job in a scrapyard, but has to turn it down for health reasons. When Daniel's work coach tells him he must work harder to find a job, 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 given a police warning. Daniel sells most of his belongings and becomes withdrawn.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 fatal heart attack. At his "pauper's funeral", Katie reads the eulogy, including a speech Daniel had intended to read at his appeal. Daniel's speech describes his feelings about how the welfare system failed him, treating him like a number and not a man who was proud to say he had 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.

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 93%, based on 107 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. 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 23 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".

Box office

I, Daniel Blake became Ken Loach's biggest success at the UK box office, especially as the film sparked debate in the country.

Political response

There has been a wide variety of both praise and criticism of the film from politicians. Former Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith referred to the film as unfair, aiming particular criticism at 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 by stating that Duncan Smith "is living in cloud cuckoo land."

Similarly, on an episode of BBC's topical debate programme Question Time broadcast on 27 October 2016, which featured Ken Loach as a panellist, Business Secretary Greg Clark described the film as "a fictional film", 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 to this by criticising the pressure that DWP staff are placed under.

Conversely, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn appeared at the film's London premiere with the director, then subsequently praised the film on his Facebook page. In a session of Prime Minister's Questions on 2 November 2016, he advised Prime Minister Theresa May to watch the film, as he criticised the fairness of the welfare system.