This is an amazing film, and should be required viewing for people in the UK. When will it be shown on TV? Dave Johns deserves every award he gets for this performance as a 59-year old carpenter with a dodgy ticker, battling the benefits system for the first time in his life.
All the characters are believable, including Hayley Squires's single mum displaced for economic reasons to the 'opposite corner' of England and also having to battle for existence.
Politicians have criticised the film for being unfair to DWP staff. I do not think that is the case. There was still the kind lady who helps Daniel, even if she gets ticked off for it, and attends his funeral at the end. There is some humanity even within our bureaucratic institutions and Ken Loach recognises this.
However, most of the kindness comes from those we live amongst. I loved the young black guys who were entrepreneurially getting trainers shipped from their (Stoke City loving) Chinese guy and selling them on the black market - and how they used their IT skills to help Daniel get his JSA application through the malfunctioning government website.
The foodbank scene was amazing and Loach's genius is to have his actors improvise interaction with real foodbank staff while he filmed it as a 'fly on the wall'. The lasting impression was of a sanctuary of calm and help at the eye of a storm. Brilliant. Incidentally, someone I know who works at one says those who use them do not generally break into a can of beans because they are uncontrollably hungry. They normally tear open a pack of biscuits.
The other iconic scene from the film is Daniel graffiti-ing the wall. I have to give a shout-out to the street alcoholic who encourages him, while mouthing obscenities about Iain Duncan Smith (needed subtitles really). Either that guy is a brilliant actor or the genuine article as he behaved like so many guys I see in my town who have slipped through the net.
If I deduct one star from my rating it is that the ending appeared rushed and the speech at the funeral a little preachy. I also wonder if the reality of the system is actually even worse than portrayed here. For example Daniel would have got 0 points on his WCA because, as the opening credits reveal, he has to answer yes to every irrelevant question in the assessment. He was lucky to find a computer at his library as council cuts mean that libraries are closing. No-one mentioned the CAB, which he might have been directed to, only to find they had had to lay off all their benefits specialists when Legal Aid was removed in 2012.
But overall, a brilliant film, and deserving of its BAFTA.
All the characters are believable, including Hayley Squires's single mum displaced for economic reasons to the 'opposite corner' of England and also having to battle for existence.
Politicians have criticised the film for being unfair to DWP staff. I do not think that is the case. There was still the kind lady who helps Daniel, even if she gets ticked off for it, and attends his funeral at the end. There is some humanity even within our bureaucratic institutions and Ken Loach recognises this.
However, most of the kindness comes from those we live amongst. I loved the young black guys who were entrepreneurially getting trainers shipped from their (Stoke City loving) Chinese guy and selling them on the black market - and how they used their IT skills to help Daniel get his JSA application through the malfunctioning government website.
The foodbank scene was amazing and Loach's genius is to have his actors improvise interaction with real foodbank staff while he filmed it as a 'fly on the wall'. The lasting impression was of a sanctuary of calm and help at the eye of a storm. Brilliant. Incidentally, someone I know who works at one says those who use them do not generally break into a can of beans because they are uncontrollably hungry. They normally tear open a pack of biscuits.
The other iconic scene from the film is Daniel graffiti-ing the wall. I have to give a shout-out to the street alcoholic who encourages him, while mouthing obscenities about Iain Duncan Smith (needed subtitles really). Either that guy is a brilliant actor or the genuine article as he behaved like so many guys I see in my town who have slipped through the net.
If I deduct one star from my rating it is that the ending appeared rushed and the speech at the funeral a little preachy. I also wonder if the reality of the system is actually even worse than portrayed here. For example Daniel would have got 0 points on his WCA because, as the opening credits reveal, he has to answer yes to every irrelevant question in the assessment. He was lucky to find a computer at his library as council cuts mean that libraries are closing. No-one mentioned the CAB, which he might have been directed to, only to find they had had to lay off all their benefits specialists when Legal Aid was removed in 2012.
But overall, a brilliant film, and deserving of its BAFTA.