I, Daniel Blake
Widower Daniel Blake (Dave Johns), a 59-year-old living in Newcastle, has had a heart attack at work. Daniel was a carpenter before the heart attack. Though his cardiologist has not allowed him to ret…
I, Daniel Blake
Widower Daniel Blake (Dave Johns), a 59-year-old living in Newcastle, has had a heart attack at work. Daniel was a carpenter before the heart attack. Though his cardiologist has not allowed him to return to work, Daniel is deemed fit to do so after a work capability assessment and denied employment and support allowance. The person conducting the assessment is not a medical professional, but just a person asking a bunch of questions and recording the answers without really understanding what the answers mean or imply. Questions include whether he can walk 50 meters unassisted by any other person, if he can raise either one of his arms to put something into his pocket, if he can raise either arm to the top of his head, if he can press a button such as a telephone keypad, if he has control over his bowels, if he can set an alarm clock, and so on. Daniel had already answered these questions on the agency's 52-page form. But none of the questions were regarding his heart, which is why he was struggling in the first place. It is implied that Employment and support services have been outsourced by the Government to a private agency, who have created a process to deal with applicants, but in the process, they have completely lost out on the human touch. The person who interviews him is not a health-care professional and is only interested in completing the questionnaire and not in understanding how the system can help Daniel. Daniel receives a letter informing him that he is not eligible for employment support allowance from the Government. Calls to their service center have long wait times (even up to 1 hour 48 minutes) and are charged. Daniel says that he has a serious heart condition and cannot understand why that was not taken into consideration before making the decision to reject his claim. Daniel is told that according to the health care professional who interviewed Daniel, he is fit to work. He only scored 12 points on the interview and needed 15 to be eligible for benefits. Daniel is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about the decision and the doctor continues to tell Daniel that he needs to work on improving the fitness of his heart, failing which they will need to install a defibrillator. Daniel applies for an appeal, which is also mired in bureaucratic nightmare as Daniel can only appeal when Daniel asks the decision maker to reconsider his/her decision and that can only happen when the decision maker calls Daniel to inform Daniel about the decision. The appeals process is difficult because Daniel must complete a set of forms on the web and is not computer literate. Daniel keeps in touch with his friends at his old job site, who help him with wooden supplies. Daniel uses the same to craft wooden toys for children, to keep himself busy and to keep himself active. Daniel befriends single mother Katie (Hayley Squires) after she is sanctioned for arriving late for a job Centre appointment. Katie and her children have just moved to Newcastle from a London homeless persons' hostel, as there is no affordable accommodation available in London. Daniel helps the family by repairing objects, teaching them how to heat rooms without electricity and crafting wooden toys for the children. China (Kema Sikazwe) is Daniel's next-door neighbor and is an African American man. He is using Daniel's address to receive illegal runs of shoes of famous brands from their factory in China. China is selling those shoes at half the price of those in high street malls. Meanwhile Daniel is caught up in the welfare bureaucracy. After his application for employment benefits is denied, he is told to keep looking for work to get Jobseeker benefits. But his doctor has told him not to work. So, Daniel keeps handing out CVs but also keeps rejecting job offers. Meanwhile, his appeal has not been accepted as it has to go through a mandatory re-consideration, which is without any time-limits. Furthermore, the agency is not satisfied that Daniel has spent sufficient time looking for work (with his handwritten CV and all) and thus puts him on a 4-week sanction of Job Seekers Allowance. The next sanction would be 13 weeks and thereafter a max of 3 years. Daniel decides not to seek a continuation of his Job Seeker allowance. A sympathetic agency worker Ann (Kate Rutter) begs him to consider that he could lose everything, but Daniel is firm. During a visit to a food bank, Katie is overcome by hunger and breaks down. After she is caught shoplifting at a supermarket, a security guard offers her work as an escort. Daniel surprises her at the brothel, where he begs her to give up the job, but she tearfully insists she has no other choice to feed her children. As a condition for receiving job-seeker's allowance, Daniel must keep looking for work. He refuses a job at a scrapyard because his doctor will not allow him to work yet. When Daniel's work coach tells him he must work harder at finding a job or be sanctioned, Daniel spray-paints "I, Daniel Blake, demand my appeal date before I starve" on the building. He earns the support of passersby, including other benefits claimants, but is arrested and given a warning by the police. Daniel sells most of his belongings and becomes a recluse but is pulled out of his depression by Katie's daughter, Daisy (Briana Shann), who brings him a homemade meal to repay Daniel for his kindness. On the day of Daniel's appeal, Katie accompanies him to court. A welfare adviser tells Daniel that his case looks sound. On glimpsing the judge and doctor who will decide his case, Daniel becomes anxious and visits the lavatory, where he suffers a heart attack and dies. At his public health funeral, Katie reads the eulogy, including the speech Daniel had intended to read at his appeal. The speech describes his feelings about how the welfare system failed him by treating him like a dog instead of a man proud to have paid his dues to society.
I, Daniel Blake
Drama
Film Details
Widower Daniel Blake (Dave Johns), a 59-year-old living in Newcastle, has had a heart attack at work. Daniel was a carpenter before the heart attack. Though his cardiologist has not allowed him to return to work, Daniel is deemed fit to do so after a work capability assessment and denied employment and support allowance.
The person conducting the assessment is not a medical professional, but just a person asking a bunch of questions and recording the answers without really understanding what the answers mean or imply. Questions include whether he can walk 50 meters unassisted by any other person, if he can raise either one of his arms to put something into his pocket, if he can raise either arm to the top of his head, if he can press a button such as a telephone keypad, if he has control over his bowels, if he can set an alarm clock, and so on. Daniel had already answered these questions on the agency's 52-page form.
But none of the questions were regarding his heart, which is why he was struggling in the first place. It is implied that Employment and support services have been outsourced by the Government to a private agency, who have created a process to deal with applicants, but in the process, they have completely lost out on the human touch. The person who interviews him is not a health-care professional and is only interested in completing the questionnaire and not in understanding how the system can help Daniel.
Daniel receives a letter informing him that he is not eligible for employment support allowance from the Government. Calls to their service center have long wait times (even up to 1 hour 48 minutes) and are charged. Daniel says that he has a serious heart condition and cannot understand why that was not taken into consideration before making the decision to reject his claim.
Daniel is told that according to the health care professional who interviewed Daniel, he is fit to work. He only scored 12 points on the interview and needed 15 to be eligible for benefits. Daniel is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about the decision and the doctor continues to tell Daniel that he needs to work on improving the fitness of his heart, failing which they will need to install a defibrillator.
Daniel applies for an appeal, which is also mired in bureaucratic nightmare as Daniel can only appeal when Daniel asks the decision maker to reconsider his/her decision and that can only happen when the decision maker calls Daniel to inform Daniel about the decision. The appeals process is difficult because Daniel must complete a set of forms on the web and is not computer literate. Daniel keeps in touch with his friends at his old job site, who help him with wooden supplies.
Daniel uses the same to craft wooden toys for children, to keep himself busy and to keep himself active. Daniel befriends single mother Katie (Hayley Squires) after she is sanctioned for arriving late for a job Centre appointment. Katie and her children have just moved to Newcastle from a London homeless persons' hostel, as there is no affordable accommodation available in London.
Daniel helps the family by repairing objects, teaching them how to heat rooms without electricity and crafting wooden toys for the children. China (Kema Sikazwe) is Daniel's next-door neighbor and is an African American man. He is using Daniel's address to receive illegal runs of shoes of famous brands from their factory in China.
China is selling those shoes at half the price of those in high street malls. Meanwhile Daniel is caught up in the welfare bureaucracy. After his application for employment benefits is denied, he is told to keep looking for work to get Jobseeker benefits.
But his doctor has told him not to work. So, Daniel keeps handing out CVs but also keeps rejecting job offers. Meanwhile, his appeal has not been accepted as it has to go through a mandatory re-consideration, which is without any time-limits.
Furthermore, the agency is not satisfied that Daniel has spent sufficient time looking for work (with his handwritten CV and all) and thus puts him on a 4-week sanction of Job Seekers Allowance. The next sanction would be 13 weeks and thereafter a max of 3 years. Daniel decides not to seek a continuation of his Job Seeker allowance.
A sympathetic agency worker Ann (Kate Rutter) begs him to consider that he could lose everything, but Daniel is firm. During a visit to a food bank, Katie is overcome by hunger and breaks down. After she is caught shoplifting at a supermarket, a security guard offers her work as an escort.
Daniel surprises her at the brothel, where he begs her to give up the job, but she tearfully insists she has no other choice to feed her children. As a condition for receiving job-seeker's allowance, Daniel must keep looking for work. He refuses a job at a scrapyard because his doctor will not allow him to work yet.
When Daniel's work coach tells him he must work harder at finding a job or be sanctioned, Daniel spray-paints "I, Daniel Blake, demand my appeal date before I starve" on the building. He earns the support of passersby, including other benefits claimants, but is arrested and given a warning by the police. Daniel sells most of his belongings and becomes a recluse but is pulled out of his depression by Katie's daughter, Daisy (Briana Shann), who brings him a homemade meal to repay Daniel for his kindness.
On the day of Daniel's appeal, Katie accompanies him to court. A welfare adviser tells Daniel that his case looks sound. On glimpsing the judge and doctor who will decide his case, Daniel becomes anxious and visits the lavatory, where he suffers a heart attack and dies.
At his public health funeral, Katie reads the eulogy, including the speech Daniel had intended to read at his appeal. The speech describes his feelings about how the welfare system failed him by treating him like a dog instead of a man proud to have paid his dues to society..