I, Daniel Blake

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2:22

I, Daniel Blake

R

2017

1h 37m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

184 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) is a 59-year-old widowed carpenter who must rely on welfare after a recent heart attack leaves him unable to work. Despite his doctor's diagnosis, British authorities deny Blake's benefits and tell him to return to his job. As Daniel navigates his way through an agonizing appeal process, he begins to develop a strong bond with a destitute, single mother (Hayley Squires) who's struggling to take care of her two children.

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Critics Consensus

I, Daniel Blake marks yet another well-told chapter in director Ken Loach's powerfully populist filmography.

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Namrata Joshi

The Hindu

07/24/2018

I, Daniel Blake is about the struggles of an ailing common man against the labyrinthine welfare bureaucracy to get that elusive 'employment and support allowance.'

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Michael Upchurch

Seattle Times

06/29/2017

3/4

Whichever side you come down on, Johns' and Squires' low-key performances are impressive, and the technological/red-tape hurdles their characters face feel stingingly accurate.

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Anthony Lane

The New Yorker

06/12/2017

Politically, of course, it cleaves to the left, yet by temperament it shrinks from progress.

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Cameron Meier

MeierMovies.com

Aug 11

4.25/5

It’s no surprise Loach made a film that delivers such an emotional yet truthful pummeling. After all, he’s been neglecting to pull his punches since the late 1960s.

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Diana Tuova

Spotlight on Film

08/09/2024

5/5

Ken Loach proves that one does not need some extraordinary circumstances...to make a powerful...film full of conviction – it is simply enough to show life as it is – a simple daily struggle known to many and only too well.

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

09/04/2023

4/5

Loach’s plain-speaking film is a touchingly realistic parable.

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Ian H

@Howellsey Aug 2

Kafkaesque bureaucracy in action. Sad, true and very moving

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David R

@DavidRankin Jun 28

Good movie. The system really killed this good man. Government bureaucracy at is best while people struggle to make ends meet.

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Liam D

01/29/2025

Preston Media

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Jonathan K

@aFIREintheattic 09/09/2024

This one went a direction I wasn't expecting. It emotionally comes at you out of nowhere, but in a good way. It's quite the commentary on our social systems and bureaucracies and how we (don't) take care of the elderly or people in need on this planet. The two lead actors are very good. Don't let the humdrum plot synopsis fool you, this is a worthwhile watch.

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João Vitor d

07/15/2024

A simple story, but very effective in the message it wants to convey. The feeling of agony and frustration remains throughout the film. The film's theme is the bureaucracy of the state and how it affects the people who need it the most. You can easily connect with the film. With good performances, especially from Hayley Squires, the scenes with a greater emotional charge are executed smoothly and have their effect (see the Foodbank scene). A film with good performances, a good story, that manages to move you and that in the end, life's suck.

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David K

06/18/2024

An extraordinarily touching film documenting the plight of the eponymous Daniel. Despite the humiliation of trying to navigate and comply with an impossibly tortuous and Kafka-esque welfare system, run almost exclusively by soulless minions of the State, Daniel manages to retain his dignity and moral authority by offering his help to equally determined and proud single mum, Katie. Together they show us the very best of humanity against all the odds. There is a particularly touching scene where Katie succumbs to overwhelming hunger when at her wit's end. This is followed by a heartbreakingly selfless scene where she shows she is willing to sacrifice all for her children. A very honest, raw and worthwhile film in my view.

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Ken Loach

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Daniel Blake

Hayley Squires

Katie

Dylan McKiernan

Dylan

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Daisy

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I, Daniel Blake: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) is a 59-year-old widowed carpenter who must rely on welfare after a recent heart attack leaves him unable to work. Despite his doctor's diagnosis, British authorities deny Blake's benefits and tell him to return to his job. As Daniel navigates his way through an agonizing appeal process, he begins to develop a strong bond with a destitute, single mother (Hayley Squires) who's struggling to take care of her two children.

Director: Ken Loach
Producer: Rebecca O'Brien
Screenwriter: Paul Laverty
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Sixteen Films, Why Not Productions, BBC Films, Wild Bunch
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 2, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $258.2K
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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