Synopsis
A middle aged carpenter, who requires state welfare after injuring himself, is joined by a single mother in a similar scenario.
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Cast
- Dave JohnsDaniel
- Hayley SquiresKatie
- Briana ShannDaisy
- Dylan McKiernanDylan
- Kate RutterAnn
- Sharon PercySheila
- Kema SikazweChina
- Magpie RichensPiper
- Amanda PayneAssessor
- Chris McGladeAt the Sawmill
Recommendations
- 100
Variety
I, Daniel Blake is one of Loach’s finest films, a drama of tender devastation that tells its story with an unblinking neorealist simplicity that goes right back to the plainspoken purity of Vittorio De Sica. - 91
The Film Stage
It’s often warm and quite funny, but is, at heart, a damning critique of the Tory government in Britain and their belt-tightening austerity measures, as well as a rallying cry for those who fall through the cracks. - 80
The Guardian
The story is told with stark and fierce plainness: unadorned, unapologetic, even unevolved. Loach’s movie offends against the tacitly accepted rules of sophisticated good taste: subtlety, irony and indirection. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
The film is anchored by incisive characterizations rich in integrity and heart, and by an urgent simplicity in its storytelling that's surprisingly powerful. - 80
CineVue
Following the disappointing period dalliance of Jimmy's Hall, Ken Loach's latest I, Daniel Blake is something of a return to form. It stands as a succinct and furious raging against the dying of the light, or more accurately the snuffing of the light by a privatised and punitive system more intent on lowering the figures than caring for those in need. - 75
IndieWire
It's a touching story that would seem altogether familiar if weren't also loaded with urgency. - 75
The Playlist
The biggest lesson to take away from I, Daniel Blake is how a movie doesn’t have to be psychologically complex or cinematically dazzling to dig beyond its surface. It’s rudimentary in terms of technique, but how the film generates its power is through the themes of humanity and kindness at its center. - 70
Screen Daily
While it might not break new ground, there is no denying the potency of the film’s empathetic anguish and fury.
