Films can stir a lot of emotions. They can make you laugh, make you angry, or reduce you to tears. It is extremely rare for one film do all three, but I, Daniel Blake, from the master veteran British director Ken Loach, is such a film.
Comedian Dave Johns plays Daniel, a widowed carpenter who has suffered a recent heart attack. His doctor tells him he is not fit to go back to work but an assessment by a “healthcare professional” when he tries to claim benefits deems he is. His only option is to claim Job Seekers Allowance, which means he actively has to apply for jobs that he knows he won’t be able to take if he is offered them.
He struggles in a digital age, when most things need to be completed online, the indifference (at best) of most of the Job Centre staff and the utter madness of the red tape. At the same time, he befriends a young single Mum (Katie, Hayley Squires) who has been forced to take a flat in Newcastle to avoid being homeless despite coming from, and previously living in, London.
I, Daniel Blake received some snotty reviews from critics who have called it simplistic and accused Loach of preaching to the converted. That reaction baffles me. I think Loach and his regular screenwriting collaborator, Paul Laverty, should be applauded for bringing a story like this to the screen. Who else provides films about this overlooked section of society? There was the excellent Hector last year, but as much as I enjoyed that, it had a much softer centre than this film.
Otherwise you can turn to TV to see Victorian set dramas involving working class people struggling to survive, as they are nice and safe, not impacting on the modern world. Worse still are the obscene documentaries produced by Channel 5 where people on benefits, playing ludicrous caricatures for the cameras and their 15 minutes of fame are depicted as scrounging figures of fun.
As usual with Loach films, the acting is very naturalistic, and all the better for it. Johns is impressive in his first role of this type, and Squires should have a fantastic career ahead of her after her astonishingly good portrayal here.
The only false note of the entire film, I felt, was the appearance of an over the top comedy drunken Scotsman just after Daniel makes his big protest. It seemed like something out of Rab C. Nesbitt and his dialogue didn’t convince at all. Other than that, I can’t really find fault at all. The ending is devastating and Katie’s heart-breaking visit to a food bank is something that I will not forget.
I am pleased to see that I, Daniel Blake has found its way into the multiplex schedules, and really hope that encourages people outside of Loach’s core audience to see this profound and moving film.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10