Fresh off a plane, Dakota Johnson hails a cab outside some New York adjacent airport and just so happens to land in Sean Penn’s cab. Throughout their 97-minute journey into her apartment, the two bond, call each other out, and have one of the most captivating dynamics onscreen in recent years. Their brash, yet intimate conversations are the foundation on which Daddio builds itself.
We never know Johnson’s character’s name but Penn’s Clark gets a lot more out of her. Coming home from visiting her sister in Oklahoma, the character has a quiet defiance about her. As Clark peppers her with questions about where she flew in from and how he knows she’s a local, she indulges him with awe and a bit of disdain. Her phone keeps buzzing, causing Penn to correctly infer that she is dating a married man and that she has daddy issues.
The two bounce like that back and forth until one of them reveals some deeper inner truth. A car accident allows the two to chat further about each of their issues, having frank discussions about sex, love, and family.
For the last couple of years, Dakota Johnson has honed her craft by taking character roles. She’s not one to go after the big studio movie (Madame Web seems to be the exception) and she’s at her best in emotion-driven character pieces like Cha-Cha Real Smooth, The Lost Daughter, and Am I OK? Here she matches Penn’s performance move for move, giving the Oscar-winning heavyweight a run for his money.
First-time director Christy Hall cashes in on the chemistry and talent of this well-versed pair. Known for her short-lived but well-liked Netflix show I Am Not Okay with This, the filmmaker clearly has a knack for writing dialogue. The only thing that takes away from the writing and the chemistry between her leads is the score. Think of a cheesy lumbering piano similar to the one found in American Beauty and other late ‘90s/early 2000’s melodramas. They are in a cab for 98% of the movie. The radio is right there to conveniently provide diegetic sound.
However, whenever the score drags you out of the story, Phedon Papamichael’s cinematography pulls you back in. Even though the film takes place in the same location, the camera movement and lighting are never boring. You never question if this film should have been a play by the way faces and closeups are captured.
While Daddio examines power dynamics and father figures, this eager and engaging two-hander takes it’s simple premise and morphs it into a surprising and underrated film. Its a solid first feature from Christy Hall and another captivating performance from Dakota Johnson.
