Review of I, Daniel Blake (2016) by Richard S — 28 Aug 2017

I saw Dave Johns in stand up a few years back. Back then I would never have thought that this guy who had me in hysterics would have had such a powerful and emotive performance in him that he turns out here.

The film is an angry assault on the bureaucracy and indifference of the society in which we live in today. Johns plays a man who has been signed off work by his doctor but has been deemed fit to work by the government and so begins his struggle for survival as an endless barriers continue to prevent him progressing with his case for appeal.

Along the way he meets Hayley Squires' single mum who also puts in a low key yet very powerful performance as a woman willing to sacrifice everything to ensure her childrens' safety and happiness.

It's a powerful, anger inducing and ultimately heart breaking film that is a must see for a true insight into how our government has always treated and continues to treat the less fortunate.