Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Blistering performances.

The benefits system grinds you down. It can put you off claiming if you think you are only going to be out of work for a month or so, which is probably the intention of some people in government. So this is a worthy film to make, but the story here seems heavily exaggerated.. In the first half of the film every single misfortune, setback and inconvenience happens to Daniel, one after the other in a way that does not appear believe-able. He is portrayed solely as honest, warm and wholesome while the people who stand in his way are all mean, curt and heartless. Many of the characters seem artificially created or they talk in stitled dialogue to get a political message across rather than give an honest or credible account of being out of work.. The film and the plot really picks up as the relationship between Daniel and Kate develops - the last 15 minutes shows how good the film could have been.

I have put off watching this movie for ages as I just didn't think it would appeal to me. My close friends and brother have all being telling me to watch this film so here I am. This is powerful stuff and I mean POWERFUL STUFF. This is just so true to life. This is government BS gone nuts. This film is put together and devised by somebody who has clearly been through all this and has first hand knowledge of all the front line bureaucracy that is soul destroying. I have worked in the Employment service and have always worked as a civil servant. This film is perfect and sums up exactly how life runs. Simple story a carpenter has a heart attack and is told he can't work by his doctor but is then told he can work by the "health professional appointed by the govermnment". All the online computer stuff (some of which I struggle with and I know computers). The endless forms to fill in and endless waiting on the phone is just so true to life.The whole film is simply one normal bloke trying to get employment and going through a benefit system etc that is not designed to help or make life easy. I'm not going into all the details but the scene in the food bank just had me in tears. You need to watch this film. Absolute travesty that this film didn't win every oscar going. Terrific movie.

In Newcastle, England, the title character (played by Dave Johns) is a widowed carpenter in his late fifties who is on the mend from a heart attack. In trying to get benefits for time off work (as recommended by his doctor), he gets stuck in a quagmire of bureaucracy. During one bad visit at a government office, he befriends Katie (Hayley Squires), an unemployed, single mother of two young children who has also been mistreated by government workers."I, Daniel Blake" is another courageous film by the team of director Ken Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty that focuses, in a realistic way, on the downtrodden who are too often ignored. While this is praiseworthy, the downturn is that the overall effect can be depressing and frustrating. While the last half hour was moving in a different direction, a final plot twist thwarted this - therefore preventing the story from adding more richness to its depth.Johns and Squires are terrific in their performances as two society-rejects trying to get by and helping each other out when they can. Despite their hardships, they continue to maintain as much of their humanity as they can. Johns' appeal goes further in scenes when Daniel pokes fun at humourless nincompoops on power trips.The film has some telling (and harsh) statements of modern society and bureaucracy. There is a very noticeable contrast in how kindly the poor are treated at a food bank (run by volunteers) vs. the despicable way they are treated by government departments (run by taxpayer-funded employees). The movie has been criticized for its depiction of government employees. Among this group, there is one such character who seems to stand out as she has more soul and humanity than her peers. The film might have achieved greater depth if it had delved more into her personal story.In any case, this movie is likely to be understood by anyone has ever experienced hard times; anyone who has ever felt empathy for anyone who has experienced hard times; or anyone has ever experienced an overwhelming desire to throttle someone who is an insensitive, incompetent, arrogant, ignorant, overpaid, bureaucratic miscreant.

"I, Daniel Blake" follows two main characters, Daniel and Katie who struggle to survive in Newcastle, Northern England, with solidarity as their only weapon. The realism of the film and the well done characters who look real and believable, make it achieve its goal.These people are not just living pictures or ghosts, and we are the next. It is a film that punches our stomach for one hour and forty minutes, introducing us to the dystopian reality of our era. A dystopia (also called TINA) that we are well trained to ignore.