I, Daniel Blake
Sundance Selects | Release Date: December 23, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
30
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ConsequenceBlake GobleMay 31, 2017
This is a kitchen-sink hymn for the indomitable spirit of the common man. Read full review
100
VarietyOwen GleibermanMay 21, 2016
I, Daniel Blake is one of Loach’s finest films, a drama of tender devastation that tells its story with an unblinking neorealist simplicity that goes right back to the plainspoken purity of Vittorio De Sica. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJan 5, 2017
Loach’s film isn’t as stridently political as it probably sounds. These are just proud people who want to be treated with respect. There’s one slightly melodramatic turn near the end that felt off, but by then I was already three tissues deep. Read full review
91
The Film StageRory O'ConnorMay 21, 2016
It’s often warm and quite funny, but is, at heart, a damning critique of the Tory government in Britain and their belt-tightening austerity measures, as well as a rallying cry for those who fall through the cracks. Read full review
90
We Got This CoveredLuke HearfieldJan 5, 2017
I, Daniel Blake is a dignified film containing moments of hilarity and genuine heartbreak. It's a movie dripping with social relevance and shines a light on the red tape bureaucracy that cripples those that are in most need of help. Read full review
90
New York Daily NewsEdward DouglasDec 29, 2016
Acclaimed filmmaker Ken Loach is a master at capturing the day-to-day of British life, and this film, which won the coveted Palm D'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival, is no exception. That said, it may be easier for some to decipher the heavy British accents than others. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenMay 31, 2017
For the iconoclastic film director Ken Loach and his longtime screenwriting collaborator Paul Laverty, I, Daniel Blake represents their most accessible film ever. Read full review
88
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 16, 2020
It’s a touching story, and a deflating one. And Johns (“Fishermen’s Friends”) makes Daniel Blake Everyman and Everywoman, stoic and hard-working, overwhelmed by a system that’s been rigged to prevent claims, to make the “safety net” not all that safe at all. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 6, 2017
I, Daniel Blake, a new Loach landmark which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival last year, sums up everything that has kept he muckraking motor running for decades. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJan 5, 2017
I, Daniel Blake is one of his better efforts because the story is powerfully focused and the acting is strong, which is not always the case with Loach's films. Read full review
80
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJun 12, 2017
The emotional wallop grows more zealous with almost every sequence, and Loach’s refusal to go easy on us is as stubborn as it was when he made “Cathy Come Home.” Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJun 8, 2017
Johns makes it all bearable. Inviting, even. His performance has such a gentle humanity, especially in the darkest scenes, that you can’t turn away. You don’t just root against the system. You root for him, and that’s an important distinction. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen HoldenDec 22, 2016
What makes the pain of this film bearable is Daniel’s unquenchable decency, courage and perseverance. Read full review
80
SlateJune ThomasDec 21, 2016
When the system is rigged, trying to do the right thing wears a man down. Read full review
80
Total FilmJamie GrahamNov 2, 2016
A couple of scenes are perhaps too on the nose, but the naturalistic performances are faultless, the righteous anger controlled, and the bleakness dotted with moments of humour and small acts of kindness. I, Daniel Blake is, first and foremost, a deeply humanistic film. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonDave CalhounOct 18, 2016
It's a spare film, muted in colour and unflashy – and it's all the more powerful and urgent for it. Read full review
80
EmpireAndrew LowryOct 17, 2016
Loach scans the contemporary landscape, and instead of a firebrand approach of stereotype, delivers a film of immense sadness. Someone should project this on the walls of the Department for Work and Pensions. Read full review
80
CineVueJohn BleasdaleMay 21, 2016
Following the disappointing period dalliance of Jimmy's Hall, Ken Loach's latest I, Daniel Blake is something of a return to form. It stands as a succinct and furious raging against the dying of the light, or more accurately the snuffing of the light by a privatised and punitive system more intent on lowering the figures than caring for those in need. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 21, 2016
The story is told with stark and fierce plainness: unadorned, unapologetic, even unevolved. Loach’s movie offends against the tacitly accepted rules of sophisticated good taste: subtlety, irony and indirection. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyMay 21, 2016
The film is anchored by incisive characterizations rich in integrity and heart, and by an urgent simplicity in its storytelling that's surprisingly powerful. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesMichael UpchurchJul 10, 2017
Whichever side you come down on, Johns’ and Squires’ low-key performances are impressive (Johns won Best Actor at this year’s Seattle International Film Festival), and the technological/red-tape hurdles their characters face feel stingingly accurate. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayJun 1, 2017
I, Daniel Blake is about human value: disposable and abstract in one context; eternal, inviolable and sacred in another. They might underline the point a bit too thickly, but Loach and Laverty count on their audience to discern the difference, and to act accordingly. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMay 31, 2017
Johns is terrific, the heart and soul of the movie, playing the kind of guy that’s the heart and soul of any industrialized country on the planet. Read full review
75
IndieWireEric KohnMay 21, 2016
It's a touching story that would seem altogether familiar if weren't also loaded with urgency. Read full review
75
The PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicMay 21, 2016
The biggest lesson to take away from I, Daniel Blake is how a movie doesn’t have to be psychologically complex or cinematically dazzling to dig beyond its surface. It’s rudimentary in terms of technique, but how the film generates its power is through the themes of humanity and kindness at its center. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleDec 22, 2016
When I, Daniel Blake regrettably piles it on at the end, it’s Loach growing weary of humanizing details and desperate to shake you up with consequences, didacticism and speechifying. It’s the finger-pointer in him, but as this movie frequently shows in its best moments, he’s still a practiced veteran at open-arms affection for the dignity of the downtrodden. Read full review
70
Screen DailyWendy IdeMay 21, 2016
While it might not break new ground, there is no denying the potency of the film’s empathetic anguish and fury. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloDec 19, 2016
The movie is plenty affecting when it sticks to credible, low-key difficulties faced with weary decency; there was no need to crank the pathos up to 11 and throw a full-scale pity party. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorMay 4, 2017
Ultimately this political film’s sentimentality and transparency detract from its power. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireJan 5, 2017
With I, Daniel Blake, Loach is using the medium for one of its most crucial purposes: to shine a light on injustices he sees all around him, as well as on our capacity for human decency. Read full review
60
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMay 21, 2016
While it too often sands the complications off what you sense should feel like an uncomfortably splintery issue, in its best moments, it’s a quietly fearsome piece of drama. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineSam C. MacSep 28, 2016
It's pock-marked by the conservative dramatic conventions and broad political gestures that have marred much of Ken Loach's recent output. Read full review
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