Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Daddio’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn in Christy Hall’s DADDIO. (Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures.)

We are taught when we are growing into adulthood, that one of the big secrets to finding happiness in adult life… involves obtaining a special type of intimacy. Specifically, wherein we surround ourselves with a select few individuals who we can be completely and utterly open with. One of whom should be a partner or significant other since that signals a true love, while the rest should be that inner circle of amazing friends, all of whom we know we can trust with our deepest darkest secrets and who understand us and support us and can be open with us as well, and truly… we take this lesson to heart. For we all yearn for connection, and we search for this when we head out into the world.
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Yet, what is fascinating… is that so many of us… struggle to find this true connection. For sometimes the friends we think are the ones that will be with us forever, come and go faster than expected, and sometimes we find those lovers and partners that end up being quite the joke. Wherein they are emotionally unavailable to us and/or go to great lengths to keep our emotions and their own at bay. And of course, in the 21st Century, we all have questions about intimacy in an age where apps and texting don’t fully represent the human emotional experience just yet. Which leaves one to wonder… how do we find it, and is it possible to obtain? Well, it just so happens that a brand-new motion picture answers those questions in Daddio.

Which this film accomplishes by taking us on quite the unique and intimate journey on a chilly night in New York City. Wherein a woman has returned home from her travels and climbs into a cab to return home to settle in. But whilst in that cab, she strikes up a conversation with its driver, a man named Clark, and oddly… the two connect on a fundamental level. One that prompts them both, to open their souls up to one another bear their biggest secrets and hopes and dreams. For both are starving for intimacy of any kind and who better on this night to supply it, than kind strangers with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Which… brings about a unique story for certain. One that is, in many ways, a technical and storytelling marvel through and through.

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Sean Penn in Christy Hall’s DADDIO. (Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures.)

In large part because we are treated to a simple story in a simple setting. One that features two strangers chatting away about everything and anything in just a cab, and that is something we simply haven’t seen in a very long time. In fact, this really is reminiscent of the golden age of cinema. Where stars of yore would just sit there and wow us with powerful monologues and conversations and that’s precisely what we get here with some modern twists and well… it works. Because you’re captivated and riveted by every single second, which speaks to the wonder of Christy Hall’s amazing script and direction and the incredible performances that Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn send our way.
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But technical wonder and top tier acting aside, there was mention of lessons to be found here and the film does deeply explore how intimacy falters and how we find it. Since the story looks deeply at how the real problem is that so many of us want intimacy… but close ourselves off to protect a relationship or a friendship out of a silent worry that intimacy is what ruins them when in fact intimacy is what saves them. Not to mention this story reminds us that intimacy is easy to find… we simply have to take a chance and be open to talking with others and be unafraid in showcasing who we are to people that we feel a connection with. Because no harm can come from that and who knows, they may be exactly who we need in life. All of which teaches us that despite understanding the lesson… we are our own worst enemy when it comes to what we crave.

All of which brings forth a brilliant motion picture. One that is intimate and powerful, and truly unlike anything out in cinema right now. Because it is just so rare to see a story be set in a singular place in this manner and spend so much time exploring elements of the human condition that we lament but don’t explore and it truly is captivating from beginning to end. In fact, you’re left wanting more from this story because of how incredibly good it is. But what matters most, is that it really does take the time to teach us how we can obtain what we deeply desire in this life, and how important it is now more than ever, to be open with one another and to be kind with one another. Because you simply never know where that will take us, and what it can do for our lives.     

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