Right from the opening credits in which the title character argues with a "health care professional" against a pitch black screen, Ken Loach fuses wry humour with bleak drama to present a potent look at bureaucracy gone mad here. The plot focuses on a carpenter who finds himself unable to obtain welfare when his doctor declares him unfit for work since the state's medical examiners disagree. This plunges the ageing man into a near Kafkaesque nightmare, told that the only way he can retain welfare is through jobseekers allowance, which means applying for jobs that he knows he cannot take just to show that he deserves welfare. Modern technology also proves a challenge as forms are only available online and he has never used a computer. The humour regarding Blake's unfamiliarity with computers is arguably a misstep as it mocks him as opposed to bureaucratic red tape, however, it also offers a timely reminder that not everyone is computer literate - and that the most disadvantaged in most desperate need may not even be able to afford a computer. A subplot in which Blake helps a single mother in similarly dire straits adds further dimension to his character. At first, this almost seems a character flaw, helping others yet unwilling to accept help himself (his neighbour offers on multiple occasions) but the emotionally charged final scene suggests that there is something greatly amiss with a system that forces one into such a corner. With the humour gradually declining as the film spirals towards its climax, 'I, Daniel Blake' concludes feeling like a very angry film without answers. This is may not be the inspirational movie one might expect given the premise, but there is something certainly refreshing about how down-to-earth the film feels due to this.
Review of I, Daniel Blake
