Daddio review: mixed feelings on this one

Daddio takes place in a cab. It’s a long conversation between the cab driver and his fare as they drive from JFK airport to midtown Manhattan. The normal drive time is lengthened by a traffic accident that keeps them sitting still for quite a while.

Daddio could be interpreted in two ways in my mind. Dakota Johnson, who is known only as “Girlie” throughout the film, gets in a cab driven by Clark (Sean Penn). Clark is his real name, but he likes Vinny better. He thinks it suits him.

Christy Hall wrote and directed this small, intimate film. Clark is a chatty kind of cab driver. The pretty girlie in his back seat seems willing to talk, although she sometimes texts her horny lover who begs for nude photos and blasts her with a dick pic.

Clark is full of advice. He mostly talks about sex and how that’s all men want from women. His remarks are often uncomfortable. The conversation covers a lot of ground in 90 or so minutes, but he keeps bringing it back to sexual topics.

I was never sure whether he was trying to seduce her or give her fatherly wisdom. Was he telling her he wanted sex at the end of the ride? He sure lingered outside her door for a long time after he dropped her off. Or was he sharing what he thought would protect her from the dick she was texting?

I’m leaning toward the predator answer. Sean Penn played his part with such charm and apparent openness that he “seemed” safe. But is a man who brags about his exploits with his side pieces during his two marriages actually safe?

Girlie had lingering issues from her childhood on her mind, as well as some uncertainty about the man she called “Daddy” in her text messages.

The conversation meandered, proceeded in fits and starts. Sometimes it was slow and boring. Sometimes, especially for Dakota Johnson’s character, it was revelatory and raw. Conversations with strangers are often the ones where we reveal something we’d never tell anyone we know. That was Girlie’s side of the ride. Clark’s openness was less revealing.

She knew how to stop Clark in his tracks. She told him to fuck off once, and insisted he get out of the cab when he wanted to pee in a cup. She clearly did not intend to invite him inside at the end of the ride, but she gave him a huge tip and touched his cheek in an intimate farewell. She got something out of the conversation.

Both Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn were excellent in this. However, as a movie, there was no action and not much drama. If you watch this one, I’d love to hear what you thought of the conversation.

Daddio is streaming on Netflix.