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I, Daniel Blake
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = I, Daniel Blake
| image = I, Daniel Blake.png
| alt =
| caption = British release poster
| director = Ken Loach
| producer = Rebecca O'Brien
| writer = Paul Laverty
| starring =
| music = George Fenton
| cinematography = Robbie Ryan
| editing = Jonathan Morris
| production_companies =
| distributor =
| released =
| runtime = 100 minutes
| country =
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = $15.8 million
}}
'I, Daniel Blake' is a 2016 drama film written by Paul Laverty and directed by Ken Loach. It stars Dave Johns as Daniel Blake, a middle-aged man who is denied Employment and Support Allowance despite being declared unfit to work by his doctor. 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
Daniel Blake, a widowed 59-year-old joiner from Newcastle, has had a heart attack. Though his doctor has not allowed him to return to work, he is deemed fit to do so after a Work Capability Assessment and is denied Employment and Support Allowance. He is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about this decision and thus applies for an appeal, a process he finds difficult because he must complete forms online and is not computer literate.
Daniel befriends a single mother named Katie after she is sanctioned for arriving late to her Jobcentre appointment. Katie and her children have just moved to Newcastle from a homeless shelter in London, 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 breaks down crying, having become overwhelmed by hunger due to feeding her children instead of herself. After she is caught shoplifting at a supermarket, a security guard secretly offers her work as a prostitute. Daniel surprises her at the brothel where she goes to work and 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 his 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 side of the building. He earns the support of bystanders, including other people claiming benefits, but is arrested and cautioned by the police. Daniel sells most of his belongings and becomes a recluse. He is pulled out of his depression by Katie's daughter, Daisy, who brings him a homemade meal to repay him for his kindness.
On the day of Daniel's appeal, Katie accompanies him to the tribunal, where a welfare adviser tells Daniel that his case looks promising. Upon seeing the judge and doctor who will decide his fate, Daniel becomes anxious and excuses himself to use the toilet, where he suffers another heart attack and dies at the age of 60. Katie reads the eulogy at his public health funeral, including the speech he had intended to read at his appeal. The speech describes his feelings about how the UK welfare system failed him, and states, "I am not a blip on a computer screen or a national insurance number, I am a man."
Cast
* Dave Johns as Daniel Blake
* Hayley Squires as Katie Morgan
* Briana Shann as Daisy Morgan
* Dylan McKiernan as Dylan Morgan
* Kate Rutter as Ann
* Sharon Percy as Sheila
* Kema Sikazwe as China
* Steven Richens as Piper
* Gavin Webster as Joe
* Mick Laffey as Welfare Benefits Advisor
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' is Loach's biggest success at the UK box office.
- On the review aggregator website 'Rotten Tomatoes', the film has an approval rating of 92%, based on 184 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, 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 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 toured 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. The stand-up comedian Tom Mayhew had previously been on benefits for over three 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
The Conservative Party's then-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, said the film was unfair and criticised its portrayal of Jobcentre staff: "This idea that everybody is out to crunch you, I think it has really hurt Jobcentre staff who don't see themselves as that." The producer, Rebecca O'Brien, responded that Duncan Smith "is living in cloud cuckoo land".On the 27 October 2016 episode of the BBC topical debate programme 'Question Time', which had Loach as a panellist, the Conservative Party's then-Business Secretary Greg Clark described the film as "fictional" and said, "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. If they don't sanction them, they're in trouble." He later said, "When you're sanctioned your life is forced into chaos, and people are going to food banks. How can we live in a society where hunger is used as a weapon?"
The Labour Party's then-Leader, 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, Corbyn criticised the unfairness of the welfare system and advised then-Prime Minister, Theresa May, to watch the film.
Accolades
{| class="wikitable sortable"|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! colspan="6" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | List of awards and nominations
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Award
! Date of ceremony
! Category
! Recipient(s)
! Result
! class="unsortable"|
|-
| Australian Film Critics Association
| March 7, 2017
| Best International Film (English Language)
| 'I, Daniel Blake'
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="5"| British Academy Film Awards
| rowspan="5"| 12 February 2017
| Best Film
| Rebecca O'Brien
|
| rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"|
-
|-
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role
| Hayley Squires
|
|-
| Best Direction
| Ken Loach
|
|-
| Best Original Screenplay
| Paul Laverty
|
|-
| Best British Film
| Paul Laverty, Ken Loach and Rebecca O'Brien
|
|-
| rowspan="7"| British Independent Film Awards
| rowspan="7"| 4 December 2016
| Best British Independent Film
| 'I, Daniel Blake'
|
| rowspan="7" style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Best Director
| Ken Loach
|
|-
| Best Actor
| Dave Johns
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Hayley Squires
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Most Promising Newcomer
| Dave Johns
|
|-
| Hayley Squires
|
|-
| Best Screenplay
| Paul Laverty
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Cannes Film Festival
| rowspan="2"| 22 May 2016
| 'Palme d'Or'
| Ken Loach
|
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Palm DogManitarian Award
| Ken Loach (showcasing a three-legged dog named Shea)
|
|-
| Csar Awards
| 24 February 2017
| Best Foreign Film
| Ken Loach
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Denver Film Festival
| 14 November 2016
| Special Jury Prize: Best Actress
| Hayley Squires
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="4"| Empire Awards
| rowspan="4"| 19 March 2017
| Best British Film
| 'I, Daniel Blake'
|
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Best Director
| Ken Loach
|
|-
| Best Male Newcomer
| Dave Johns
|
|-
| Best Female Newcomer
| Hayley Squires
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| European Film Awards
| rowspan="4"| 10 December 2016
| Best Film
| 'I, Daniel Blake'
|
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Best Director
| Ken Loach
|
|-
| Best Actor
| Dave Johns
|
|-
| Best Screenwriter
| Paul Laverty
|
|-
| rowspan="5"| Evening Standard British Film Awards
| rowspan="5"| 8 December 2016
| Best Film
| 'I, Daniel Blake'
|
| rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"|
-
|-
| Best Actor
| Dave Johns
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actress
| Hayley Squires
|
|-
| Best Screenplay
| Paul Laverty
|
|-
| Most Powerful Scene Award
| 'I, Daniel Blake'
|
|-
| Golden Tomato Awards
| 12 January 2017
| Best British Movie 2016
| 'I, Daniel Blake'
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Locarno International Film Festival
| 13 August 2016
| Prix du public
| Ken Loach
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="4"| London Film Critics' Circle
| rowspan="4"| 22 January 2017
| Film of the Year
| 'I, Daniel Blake'
|
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| British/Irish Film of the Year
| 'I, Daniel Blake'
|
|-
| British/Irish Actor of the Year
| Dave Johns
|
|-
| British/Irish Actress of the Year
| Hayley Squires
|
|-
| Magritte Awards
| 3 February 2018
| Best Foreign Film in Coproduction
| 'I, Daniel Blake'
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| New York Film Critics Online
| 11 December 2016
| Top 12 Films
| 'I, Daniel Blake'
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| San Sebastin International Film Festival
| 24 September 2016
| Audience Award: Best Film
| Ken Loach
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Stockholm International Film Festival
| 20 November 2016
| Audience Award: Best Film
| Ken Loach
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Vancouver International Film Festival
| 14 October 2016
| Most Popular International Feature
| Ken Loach
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|}
References
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