I, Daniel Blake

 3/4

Starring: Dave Johns, Hayley Squires

Rated R for Language

Movies from Ken Loach do one of two things (or both): portray the lives of the British working class or dramatize his staunchly socialist beliefs.  "I, Daniel Blake" does both.  The protagonist is a carpenter by trade and is ground down by government bureaucracy which seems to be designed to screw him over.  Loach's attack on the government system that is ostensibly designed to help him is vicious and without mercy.

Daniel (Johns) is recovering from a heart attack.  He is eager to get back to work so he can pay his bills, but his doctor believes that it is too soon.  So he goes to to the government to get Employment and Support Allowance.  They, on the other hand, do not agree with the diagnosis and claim that he is able to work.  To prove it, he has to fill out form after form and make call after call.  And do it online, which is difficult because he doesn't know how to use a computer.  Everywhere he turns is a roadblock.  The only one he finds solace in (his wife died a number of years ago) is Katie (Squires), a young mother of two who is in a similar position.

"I, Daniel Blake" is like Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" without the satire.  There's very little overt comedy to be found here, and as is usually the case for Ken Loach, the story is as grounded as they come.  Who can't sympathize with a man trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare?  Daniel's problem is simple to solve, which anyone could realize if they would stop following the loop-de-loop of rules and regulations and just listen to him.

Key to the film's power are the performances.  I was surprised to find that Dave Johns is known as a comic because his performance is simply heartbreaking.  Daniel isn't an innocent led astray or some sort of martyr, but a good and decent man trapped in merciless web of nonsense that is, as one person points out, designed as a way to weasel out of giving him what he needs to survive.  The key to his performance are his scenes with Katie and her kids.  Their relationship isn't romantic (if anything, Daniel feels paternal towards her) but based on shared pain.  Katie too has been the victim of unfeeling authority and is struggling to get by.  But with two mouths to feed in addition to her own, it isn't easy.

Although the majority of the film is a satisfying, if bleak, drama, I'm less enthused about how Loach decides to wrap up Daniel's story.  The narrative becomes choppy in the final reel and contains two scenes that, while having appeal as a sort of wish-fulfillment, ring false in this kind of story.  Loach's approach has already made his points, and he doesn't need to resort to theatrical stunts that are out of character or speechifying to make sure we get his message.

Misgivings about the ending aside, I'm recommending "I, Daniel Blake" because I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on meeting two likable and compelling characters.

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