Not sure about what this title refers to. The formal premise is more theatrical than cinematic, but all indications are that the writer-director, Christy Hall, made it expressly for the screen, which means she has to be creative with her camerawork in order to counteract the static action, all of which takes place within a taxi cab. There are only two characters. One is a young woman (Dakota Johnson) who is not given a name, and the other a late middle-aged, dyed-in-the-wool New York working class cab driver named Clark (Sean Penn). The title could refer to him, but the arcane term Hall uses doesn’t really describe the dynamic between the two. Is he supposed to be a beatnik or something? And while the two actors do a fairly good job of fleshing out the often risible dialogue with verbal/gestural insights into their respective personalities, the road to mandatory epiphanies, for both, is paved with over-determined cliches.

The woman, a successful IT professional who lives in midtown Manhattan, is returning from Oklahoma where, we eventually learn, she was visiting a half-sister from whom she’s been estranged since they were teens. She gets into Clark’s cab at JFK. He’s a voluble soul, but at first his attempts at conversation hit a wall as the woman assumes a perplexed, downcast mien. Clark is assertive with his Boomer or Gen X druthers (“It’s nice that you aren’t on your phone”), and his natural charm eventually breaks through as they feel each other out in a playful kind of way. It becomes apparent that she actually is on her phone, receiving provocative sexts from her boyfriend that she is reluctant to respond to—at first. Picking up on her distracted air, Clark fearlessly probes her personal life, and, being in a vulnerable place after her journey, she slowly opens up and Clark guesses right: She’s having an affair with an older, married man that she’s thinking of ending. And while this guy could conceivably be the “Daddio” of the title, that explanation doesn’t jibe with the thrust of their ongoing conversation, which becomes extended due to an accident-related traffic jam. But she demands satisfaction, and Clark is forced to dredge up his own romantic history, which is more jaded. “I used to be that guy,” he admits, referring, presumably, to her lover. 

The gamesmanship of the conversation is cleverly developed but goes nowhere in the end because both parties have to learn something from their interaction, and it’s difficult for the viewer to make an emotional connection to whatever lessons are being imparted. The only credible aspect to the story is the notion that these two are being candid because they know they will never see each other again. I was glad that, while some of the dialogue was suggestive, there was never a chance that they would end up romantically involved. Sometimes being predictable is a blessing.

Opens Feb. 14 in Tokyo at Cine Switch Ginza (03-3561-0707), Human Trust Cinema Shibuya (03-5468-5552).

Daddio home page in Japanese

photo (c) 2023 Beverly Crest Productions LLC