'Daddio' Drives Home an Effective Character Piece
Taxi Cab Confessions meets My Dinner with Andre. Well, maybe not as deep as Andre. But deep enough. Daddio is a film that deals with the complicated relations we have in our lives that make us who we are. It's about the temptations we are given and how we should avoid them. It's a film that could very well be based on a play. The whole thing takes place in one location. A taxi cab. Think of the movie as Locke but without the suspense. Daddio isn't meant to be suspenseful as much as it's meant to be meaningful.
Daddio is a subtle film. It doesn't have big drama to follow other than the confessions of its passenger. The film starts with a somber score, following Girlie (Dakota Johnson) to her cab. Based on the music, there's something wrong with Girlie, but we don't know what it is. It's not until Girlie gets to know her driver, Clark (Sean Penn) that she opens up about her problems. Girlie has her stuff together, but she suffers from a poor love life and a damaged childhood. Girlie is coming back from a family visit in a state I can't remember. Was it Oklahoma? Wherever it was, it was basically a middle-of-nowhere red state that has more cattle than information. Girlie's father was a neglectful, harsh man, while her mother didn't do much to help the tough family situation. At a young age, Girlie ran away from home, probably only to find her way back. Now, she lives in New York City, away from her family, coding for computers.
Clark has a mysterious past. One that isn't fully revealed like it is with Girlie's backstory. There's juicy content to be had with Clark's checkered past, but it's not as detailed as it ideally should be. The two keep scores on their trauma like it's a baseball record. In the end, Girlie wins with a heartbreaking revelation. To give it away would be to spoil the whole film. With trailers these days, it might be revealed there. Avoid trailers, folks; they show too much.
Daddio is an actor's film. It's heavily reliant on dialogue to drive the story forward. Thankfully, the performers do their job of delivering a meditative narrative. Sean Penn gives one of his best performances in years. Clark is a gritty cab driver. He's not short-tempered, but he can be rude. When engaging in discussion with Girlie, Clark asks extremely personal questions and gives his insight when it's unneeded. He inadvertantly insults Girlie at one point, where she tells Clark to go F himself. Clark doesn't seem to understand boundaries, but has enough charisma where he could almost get anyone to open up. Penn inserts a New York accent. Thankfully, it's not a phoned-in accent that a lot of actors tend to do. It's natural sounding and fits Penn well. He's intimidating but sweet.
Dakota Johnson gives the best performance I've seen from her yet. Unfortunately, that's not saying a lot. Johnson doesn't sound as windy as she does in other films. Johnson is more focused and mature in this performance. Maybe it's because she's given the right dialog and characterization. Girlie has a romance with a guy that makes her naive. The man constantly texts her, wanting to have sex. Is he invading her personal space? Yes, but she doesn't mind. Their relationship is consensual. In this role, Johnson is meant to be the partially ignorant girl who's thirsting for the wrong guy. Hence, her dopiness is part of her character. Girlie, after all, is just a young adult who's learning how to handle love.
By the film's end, the two develop a relationship that ends abruptly as they're just two strangers opening their hearts. Daddio captures the conversations we have in cabs or Hubers. We speak to strangers, giving them information about our deepest secrets. Why we do this is probably because we'll never see that driver again, so it won't effect us since they're not a part of life. You can confess to cheating on your wife to doing crack without worrying about the driver judging you. Daddio does have its flaws. Its dialogue can be hokey at times. But it's a small complaint for an otherwise tight, intentionally slow narrative that resonates by the film's end.
