Final Rating: 3.5/5
Daddio, is a character driven slow burn, the latest from director/writer Christy Hall starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn. Johnson’s Girlie arrives home to NYC from visiting her sister in Oklahoma, and catches a cab ride to midtown from JFK. Penn plays the foul-mouthed Clark, her driver.
The film is essentially a two-hander, as it takes place (more or less) entirely in the vehicle. From the second we meet Clark we sense what he’s about. Gruff, plain spoken, he’s something of a caricature of how this type of character is generally portrayed. But ultimately it’s effective because of the performance making him seem so real, flaws and all.
Girlie is affable and self-assured, but seems torn about something. When she sits in the back and the not so subtle glances she takes at her cell phone in the purse next to her, we’re led to believe that she’s wondering what she ought to do, for reasons we soon discover.
The visuals are well done in that there’s something about the serene still of a night time drive that evokes a contemplative mood, even in the city, and it captures it effectively. After making pleasantries and getting to know one another a bit, they spend much of the drive exchanging what amounts to philosophical arguments and opinions. Everything from AI to one’s bucket list, to Clark lamenting that people tip less these days because they don’t carry cash and it’s easier not to with an app. But predominantly their conversations are on the relationships between men and women, what they aspire to, and get from them.
Clark’s views are more traditional, not to say there’s no truth to his insights, in particular how we as a society judge the success of a man (career, wife, kids, house etc.). His perception into what kind of woman Girlie is when he’s guessing early on in a sort of Holmesian assessment, doesn’t exactly require a psychology PhD to break down, but it’s better than other forms of basic exposition.
He is however surprised to learn she’s in computers and from a small, rural town in Oklahoma, as she has no discernable accent. There is a clever back and forth/device employed using ones and zeros as utilized in coding a sort of comparable to yea or nay questioning. As they’re held up by an accident, they continue to argue over the morals of affairs, and relationships as a whole.
The script keeps the narrative moving and offers enough intrigue as the story unfolds to wonder where exactly it’s going. Much of it revolves around the relationship between Girlie and her man, which is at first seemingly just one of a sexual nature. The texts he sends are crude and he wants seemingly nothing more than her body. It’s shallow and not particularly intriguing, but thankfully as the story keeps moving we learn more about their relationship, both via the texts and conversation in the cab. She is having an affair with an older, married man, and again, Clark cracks wise about this, stating that this man will never love her because she’s just another ‘toy’.
He proceeds to ask about her relationship with her own father, which to no surprise isn’t great. The texts then get more serious as the man is now sober; and this turns the tone of messages to one of a more mature relationship, but one can’t help eye it with a cynical note give the nature of their relationship: is he saying these things because he means them, or because this is what she wants to hear?
Without spoiling too much, it builds towards an ending that is certainly more emotional. As both characters open up about their lives, they resonate much more with each other than anything else in the context of the story. The performances are certainly a strong point and the pacing moves along nicely as well. I just hope she followed through on that tip…
Thank you to Star PR for the screener.
