‘Daddio’ review: Connections in a taxi cab

Dakota Johnson and a smooth Sean Penn come together on a revelatory ride through New York City in Daddio.

2024 seems to be the year of the cab. Other than a cab, there aren’t many spaces where two strangers share such close quarters for an extended period of time except maybe a therapist’s office or a confessional. It’s more intimate than group therapy and creates a special, but ephemeral, connection. The French film Driving Madeleine (2022) finally came to US theaters earlier this year, but suffered from wild tonal shifts that felt as if two separate movies were held at gunpoint and forced to merge. To be fair, there are countless anecdotes where nothing happens as the cab drivers engage in a one-sided rant while the passenger tightly grins and bears it because the cab driver will soon know where the passenger lives. Rest easy, because this story is not about that situation. If you’re choosing between Driving Madeleine or Daddio, the latter is a far superior story.

Director and writer Christy Hall originally wrote Daddio as a stage play but adapted it for the big screen. Leaving JFK International Airport, a woman (Dakota Johnson, credited as “Girlie”) hops in a cab headed to 44^th between 9^th and 10^th. Though it would be hard to tell from the way that she reacts to texts, Girlie is not getting ready to dump the mysterious unnamed dude only identified in her contacts as “L.” When the drive takes longer than expected, she and the cab driver, Clark (Sean Penn), end up confiding in each other.

A fair pair of actors.

Madame Web fans may be disappointed to discover that Johnson can act, but don’t expect her at the zenith of her powers here. So far, only Luca Guadagnino has consistently drawn quality acting out of her with A Bigger Splash and his remake of Suspiria. Girlie admits that she has some relationship issues. Initially it felt as if Girlie would have the epiphany that she has more of a connection with a platonic stranger in ninety minutes than her lover…but nope. It’s not disgust that Johnson is projecting while texting: Johnson is aiming for discomfort, and it feels like an unearned plot development when her sincere love is revealed. Hall set up this interesting, accomplished character and decided that she could not be dumb in romance. She is not the other woman but a significant other to a married man. Tell yourself whatever it takes to make yourself feel good.

Looking more like Ben Kingsley as he gets older, Penn does his job. Clark is a predictable character who spends most of Daddio talking, but the dialogue is not anything that you’ve never heard before about gender, sex, etc. Penn’s line delivery imbues the trite lines with a gravitas and emotion disproportionate to what an otherwise blowhard, over-sharer would deserve. Penn’s furtive glances of concern make Clark the equivalent of a police negotiator trying to keep someone from inching closer to the ledge as Girlie keeps looking down at her phone. Clark is trying to strike the balance of showing respect that a grown woman does not need his advice while being concerned that maybe she still needs someone in her corner to help lighten the load like a father. 

New York state of mind.

Hall deserves credit for avoiding the low hanging fruit. While driving through traffic, the two pass an accident without having any personal connection to it. It’s a metaphor for the fragility of life and how it can pass without anyone knowing. It bears repeating that the relationship between Girlie and Clark doesn’t have a hint of romance. Girlie does have some daddy issues and the title could refer to her relationship with Clark as a father figure. Cheesy as it is, it’s not as vomit inducing as another May December romance. Daddio is best when the two are just talking like normal people. When Clark mentions his small house in Queens, Girlie cheers, “Still a house,” to which Clark replies, “You better believe it!” In New York City (and possibly anywhere in the US), real estate is an accomplishment more impressive and less attainable than anything else. There’s a revelation from Girlie that, in today’s political climate, is more powerful than it would otherwise be before. It retroactively makes the rest of the movie more poignant and strikes Clark in the solar plexus until he is rendered silent and tearful. 

Whenever a movie feels like a play, is it still a movie if it’s not communicating visually in a way that it can’t on a stage? New York City becomes a character that’s full of magic and acts as a healing sanctuary. That Manhattan skyline leaves newcomers and jaded city dwellers breathless. Hall wisely shot the exteriors using the city, which is still effective despite being an easy way to make a stage play cinematic. Shame the interior scenes needed a New Jersey soundstage, though. While Daddio meets that cinematic criteria via the Big Apple being innately photogenic, Hall will hopefully consider sprinkling more versatile visuals in future narratives. Hall plays with mirrors, including one stunning image with Johnson’s eyes and her compact. Starting as a visual metaphor of the two not initially seeing each other except through a medium, soon it’s no longer required to facilitate their exchange. Hall uses most of her bag of tricks in the first act and does not save some for later, but the cab’s interior never feels claustrophobic. It feels intimate and inviting.

The bottom line.

Daddio is a rare mature film that perhaps overrates what it offers, but still succeeds at capturing a slice of life about how two people with little to nothing in common can share a sacred moment of understanding and appreciation for each other. This experience is life-changing for both of them, being a stunning wake-up call to reevaluate their entire way of looking at the world. It’s all in the service of cultivating more meaningful connections. That creates a humanistic, realistic film that captures the best side of public transportation.

Daddio is now playing in select theaters. You can watch the trailer here.

Images courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. You can read more reviews by Sarah G. Vincent here.