I’m not a number, I’m a free man….. who apparently has never used a computer before in this film.

This is a rather strange situation to be in. I saw this along with countless others free thanks to ShowFilmFirst at the beginning of October, and yet it’s taken me all this time to actually want to sit down and write the mini meh about it to begin with. There’s a bloody good reason; this is one deeply depressing film. It’s also probably the reason why there were so many free screenings of I, Daniel Blake all around the UK not too long ago, as who the hell would have watched this otherwise? This certainly won’t go down well in the rest of the world either.

The director, Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty seem to have gone out of their way to highlight a real problem in the UK at present (as if there weren’t enough with the impending clusterf**k that the actual Brexit Process will bring, basically just judging from the MPs’ babbling meh or how much the Pound has tanked). The problem is how people who actually needs help from the government are treated badly and in essence, viewed as third class citizens.

And so the story is set for us to have a gander at one Mr. Daniel Blake, played by Dave Johns. He’s a 59-year-old joiner in the North-East of England who basically had a heart attack and has been informed that he can’t go back to work any time soon by his doctor. Off our lovely Daniel goes to the jobcentre, asking for sickness benefits.

Suffice to say that this doesn’t go well and he is forced to apply for jobseeker’s allowance first as some “health professional” states he’s not knackered enough. So we see Daniel struggle with the system, and even struggle to use a computer to apply for things, literally running the mouse up the computer screen at one point.

What do you mean this film is just a really heavy handed message about how uncaring the UK government is about people who need help?

He does gets some help from a lady in the job centre, who then basically gets told off for caring. Because of why exactly? But hey, let’s really add some further depressing situations to the mix! At this point we still have a shred of happiness so let’s kill that altogether with single mother Katie (played by Hayley Squires) and her two children, Dylan and Daisy.

They just moved from London because they couldn’t stay down south, and low and behold they are struggling too. Daniel takes it upon himself to help her and the kids out, by hanging around and fixing a few things. He still has to look for work while not working, so off he pops with hand written CVs to various places. The turning point for Katie it seems is where we see her starving and then guzzling down food from a food bank and breaking down in front of everyone. She’s also caught shoplifting but then gets setup to be a prostitute to get money.

What follows more and more is just the situation getting worse, and in essence at the end, the Government won the day. There are some little victories for Daniel along the way, along with spray painting the wall of the Job center and making a speech about him being a human being and deserving respect which of course goes down well with people outside, but not the Jobcentre staff or the Police.

So after all that, what could be said about the film? Well to start with, the subject matter will hit home given that this has affected so many people in the UK. It’s therefore hard to not be moved by something which continues to happen even now. The acting is top notch, all things considering, and further brings across the hardships you can suffer when the odds are against you through no fault of your own.

But would I have watched this had it not been free? Absolutely not! The horrible situations, the despair ever present, even when there is light humour in places. It’s not anything for entertainment’s sake. This film is a political statement against the UK government’s treatment of people who have fallen foul of their insane push to cut down the benefits bill by any way they can. As that message, it’s loud and clear. Ken Loach certainly succeeds with a story that will not fail to move you. As a film for watching in your free time however, dear god….. It maybe be better to play with sharp objects around your wrists.

Perhaps that’s the point?