Movie Review: Daddio

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

A really interesting experiment that pays off very well. 

Nearly this entire movie takes place in a Taxicab with only two characters. There is no big storyline here but instead we just listen to a conversation between these two characters. A movie with this type of premise could have easily become incredibly boring. Yet watching this film my attention-span never wandered off once. Have you ever simply listened to two people talk and their conversation becomes so interesting that you just keep listening without needing to say a word yourself? This film is almost the cinematic equivalent of that. However, the reason, we become so invested in this conversation is not just what is being said. We become invested in these characters themselves. We may think we fully know who these characters are as the movie starts but the truth is we don't. Little by little we see their layers be stripped away until their real selves completely show. They end up being much more complex than we first took them for. This is the main ingredient that makes this film work. This movie is not about its gimmick or its experimentation. Rather this is simply a film about real people having real human emotions. Of course, with a film like this one of the most important aspects is who is cast in the lead. Luckily this movie stars Sean Penn and Dakoata Johnson, both of whom are simply wonderful here. These are two great actors at the top of their game. Not only this but the chemistry between them is fantastic. 

My only real problem with this movie is that it attempts to say something deep about sex and relationships but really doesn't. Everything this film has to say has been said by multiple films before and just as well if not better. I also felt the text conversations she was having with her boyfriend, were very poorly written and awkward. Luckily those are too brief to be a major problem. 

This marks writer/director Christy Hall's feature film debut. I always respect when a filmmaker is willing to do something truly bold for their first movie. I have even more respect when this bold move works as well as it does in Daddio.