I, Daniel Blake | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

92% Tomatometer 185 Reviews 85% Audience Score 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. Read More Read Less

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I, Daniel Blake

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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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Critics Reviews

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I, Daniel Blake | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Namrata Joshi The Hindu 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.' Jul 24, 2018 Full Review I, Daniel Blake | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Michael Upchurch Seattle Times 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. Rated: 3/4 Jun 29, 2017 Full Review I, Daniel Blake | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Anthony Lane New Yorker Politically, of course, it cleaves to the left, yet by temperament it shrinks from progress. Jun 12, 2017 Full Review I, Daniel Blake | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Diana Tuova Spotlight on Film Ken Loach proves that one does not need some extraordinary circ*mstances...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. Rated: 5/5 Aug 9, 2024 Full Review I, Daniel Blake | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson Loach’s plain-speaking film is a touchingly realistic parable. Rated: 4/5 Sep 4, 2023 Full Review I, Daniel Blake | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Matt Brunson Film Frenzy It's impossible to watch this movie without being forced to cope with bouts of sadness and helplessness -- it's honest and uncompromising, although moments of humor do manage to break loose. Rated: 3.5/4 Sep 18, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (292) audience reviews

João Vitor d 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. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/15/24 Full Review David K 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. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/18/24 Full Review Audience Member Most boring film in world, only got half way through. Just go sit in job centre for hour and half, just as exciting. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/17/24 Full Review S R 1001 movies to see before you die (2016). A critique of life in Newcastle where an honest worker tries to get benefits while ill. Shows the struggles of government programs, poverty, single mothers and weak economies. It could've been more approachable had they changed the bad language. Saw on Tubi. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/24 Full Review Gabrielle A O coringa original. Seguimos o mesmo tema, pq não há mudança real. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/24 Full Review India G One of the most heartbreaking & moving films I've ever seen. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Ken Loach Director Dave Johns Daniel Blake Hayley Squires Katie Dylan McKiernan Dylan Briana Shann Daisy Kate Rutter Ann
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I, Daniel Blake

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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
BBC Films, Sixteen Films, Wild Bunch, Why Not Productions

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)
Most Popular at Home Now
I, Daniel Blake | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

FAQs

What company made I, Daniel Blake? ›

I, Daniel Blake
Production companiesBBC Films Wild Bunch Sixteen Films Why Not Productions
Distributed byBritish Film Institute Entertainment One (United Kingdom) Le Pacte (France)
Release dates13 May 2016 (Cannes) 21 October 2016 (United Kingdom)
Running time100 minutes
11 more rows

How old is Daniel Blake? ›

Movie Info

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.

What is the story of Daniel Blake? ›

Who is the target audience for I, Daniel Blake? ›

Target Audience

The audience I, Daniel Blake is targeting is mainly adults and possibly teenagers. The storyline is aimed at adults and is most likely to be understood by adults through it's issue of evolving the film around unemployment and illnesses.

How much did I, Daniel Blake cost? ›

Famous / Successful Director, Ken Loach minimises Risk. Budget: £3.5 million. Box Office: $12 million Worldwide.

Which two companies did I, Daniel Blake receive funding from? ›

The funding bodies are the BFI (through National Lottery Funding) and the BBC. » Consider the ways in which this film is funded differently from many mainstream films, exploring Public Service Broadcasting and the respective remits of the BBC and the BFI.

Is I, Daniel Blake scripted? ›

The character of Daniel Blake is fictional. However, the stage production features real speeches, factual interviews, and social media posts. This moulding of fact and fiction humanises a group of people who are so often robbed of their dignity in the headlines and in politics.

How successful was I, Daniel Blake? ›

The indie winner: I, Daniel Blake

If UK distributor eOne had any qualms, they have surely evaporated now that I, Daniel Blake has opened with an impressive £404,000 from 94 cinemas, and £445,000 including previews. Stripping out the previews, site average is a very robust £4,298.

What countries was I, Daniel Blake released in? ›

Details
  • United Kingdom.
  • France.
  • Belgium.

What is the message of I, Daniel Blake? ›

But the film suggests that it's in the nature of the system—and notably, its language—that bends people to its structures of thinking. I, Daniel Blake is, in this sense, a film about everyday inhumanity—or if you wanted to call it that, everyday bureaucratic fascism.

What international success did I, Daniel Blake have? ›

- I, Daniel Blake eventually amassed $12.45 million worldwide, including $4.27 million in the UK and $6.4 million in France. A healthy profit for a small independent film such as this.

What certificate was I, Daniel Blake? ›

Compliance Managers viewed a finished version and informed the distributor that the film would require a 15 category in its submitted form due to 'a single use of very strong language ('c**t') and just shy of thirty uses of strong language ('f**k'). '

Why was I, Daniel Blake released in 2016? ›

I, Daniel Blake was released in 2016 to both widespread critical acclaim and considerable derision. 1 Like much of director Ken Loach's earlier work, the film was widely represented as a political intervention, this time into the effects of the current dismantling of the UK welfare system under austerity.

What channel was I, Daniel Blake on? ›

BBC Two - I, Daniel Blake.

What are the 4 target audiences? ›

A target market can be translated into a profile of the consumer to whom a product is most likely to appeal. The profile considers four main characteristics of that person: demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral.

Who funded Daniel Blake? ›

The funding bodies are the BFI, through National Lottery Funding, and the BBC. This film is funded differently from many mainstream films.

How was I, Daniel Blake advertised? ›

I, Daniel Blake made use of grassroot campaigns including taste maker screenings, street marketing, 'takeovers of refional cinemas, I, Daniel Blake speech video, etc.

What film company owns new line? ›

New Line Productions, Inc., doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film and television production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).

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