Daddio

Daddio is a story about a young woman who takes a long taxi ride from the airport to home with an older man as her driver. They both divulge personal anecdotes about their lives with seemingly no filter. At first glance it does not appear to be a great foundation for a film. However as the story progresses we find out that the young woman, (Dakota Johnson) who is never named, is involved in an affair with an older, married man. We also find out that the taxi driver 'Clark' (Sean Penn) has a fairly sharp focus on life and relationships after being married more than once.

They share details about their lives, taking turns in a sort of competition about who can reveal the most inner secrets. Clark seems to have a very clear insight into how people work and explains to the woman that she is in a relationship going nowhere. She on the other hand, appears to probably know this, but maybe she does not care as the relationship suits her present needs.

Whether you agree with Clark's opinions or the woman's actions doesn't matter, what matters is how they interact in sharing their stories and what it says about human relationships. We see Clark as possibly not able to have a proper relationship due to his cynicism about people and his free spirit. We see the woman as never been shown love from her father, so she seeks it through sexual relationships, to the point she even calls her married lover 'Daddy'. She even maintains a memory of her own father, on the only occasion he ever touched her, which appears to be a false memory.

The entire film was shot in the cab, in real time order, with 90% of the film being closeups of either Clark or the woman. Sean Penn is his usual fabulous self. He's getting on now but plays the part of the older, possibly wiser man with great insight and delivery. Dakota Johnson is excellent as the woman. She displays a whole range of emotions and you can mostly tell what she's thinking all of the time. She does her signature biting of the fingernail but it doesn't seem cheap or staged at all. The pair of them had so much chemistry and acted in such an understated yet brilliant way that I want to see it again.

The photography was perfect too and apart from Penn's and Johnson's faces the only other shots were outside the cab watching it drive along the street.

Some might find it uninteresting because there's only the two of them, in a cab, talking for an hour and a half. I think it's storytelling at it's best as within the conversations are so many worldly expositions and many people might find many differing points of view. I absolutely love this film and I gave it a solid 8.

There are a lot of elements of this movie that touched me. One is the familiarity and authenticity of setting- New York City's JFK to Manhattan. Familiar territory here and handled with realism. There has been a movement in film's post Covid to shoot small film's that are story, script, and actor driven-perhaps for budgetary reasons. This movie meets that criteria. Very much like this year's, His Three Daughters, the movie could easily have been a play. Sean Penn and Dakota Johnson are the entire cast and the stars. The film is founded on believing their relationship, and evolving familiarity, as cab driver and passenger. Very well done. Dakota Johnson really impressed me. While I know Sean Penn is a great actor, I had no idea Dakota Johnson was so good.

"Daddio" is a movie that tries to promote meaningful conversation, which is really needed in this day and age, but comes off extremely pervy creepy at times. But for all the pervy creepy moments, many of their conversations are sincere. Sean Penn delivers a great performance. Dakota Johnson does well in her role as the cabby's passenger. Their banter comes off as a natural conversation among two complete strangers. Some of what Penn's "Clark" tries to convey is meant to give much needed advice to a woman lost in a relationship going nowhere. At times, Johnson's "Girlie" seems to take that advice and immediately toss it out the window. Ultimately, they share a bond of two strangers who will probably never meet again, but both will keep the memory of the night's conversations in their hearts forever.

#seanpenn #dakotajohnson #daddiomovie #daddio #movies #moviereview #sonypicturesclassics.

Movies, of late, have been boring me after about 20 minutes. It's either a remake or slightly different from an old movie. I usually am able to predicts how they end. Not this movie, sean penn and Dakota Johnson were amazing. Great chemistry. An entire movie filmed in a taxi. Normally I don't like Dakota Johnson but she was great with Sean Penn. Movies with good scripts, good actors and good directors are hard to find now, even with all the TV we have now. If you have the time, you will not be disappointed if you watch this flick. It did at times gives me collateral vibes. If you like that movie you'll like this one.

8.0 stars.

This is a film that everyone must see at least once. This is where you take your troubles and dreams and talk to someone you love and trust, and tell them about a person in your life called Daddio.

What a compelling story about a complex woman and a down-to-earth taxi driver. As they continue to talk, he pulls all of her sorrows out of her and it's all on the table for discussion and healing. But she is not just an ordinary woman, she's also a person of great empathy and she will win this game of honest discourse and reparation of the soul.

I was profoundly touched by these two wonderful actors.