The Reel Review
A woman’s taxi ride from JFK airport to her home in midtown Manhattan takes a deeply introspective turn, when a lengthy delay sparked by a traffic accident results in a refreshingly candid and thought-provoking conversation about relationships that changes the lives of both driver and passenger. Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn star in this drama.
Writer/director Christy Hall’s directorial film debut is an impressive one, taking a seemingly dry premise and injecting it with smart, engaging dialogue – all within the confines of a taxi. The onscreen chemistry between Johnson and Penn, as the crude but very perceptive and fatherly taxi driver, gives the story an authentic vibe, as we learn that Johnson’s character has been having an affair with a married man who is texting her during their ride. Many more secrets, some devastating, will be shared before the extended trip ends.
Johnson and Penn do an exceptional job using subtle body language and facial expressions to convey emotion and forge an emotional bond, with clever cinematography capturing New York City in its nighttime splendor. The conversations about daddy issues and in particular, the different reasons men and women cheat on their partners, are thought provoking ones that will linger long after the credits roll. Daddio is a beautiful film about the need for and beauty in forging human connection.
REEL FACTS
• Originally Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) was set to star until she dropped out due to a scheduling conflict.
• When Dakota Johnson learned Christy Hall was having a hard time casting the role of the taxi driver, she recommended her New York neighbor, Sean Penn.
• Writer/director Christy Hall (writer of It Ends with Us) shot Daddio in chronological order in just 16 days. She says she was inspired by the reality series Taxicab Confessions.
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