Daddio looks like an effortless movie, which is its greatest strength.  Some of this credit can be offered to its central stars, The High Note’s Dakota Johnson and Milk Academy Award winner Sean Penn, who are both working at the top of their games.  But, it’s writer/director Christy Hall who deserves to be praised for her impeccably controlled feature film debut.

Aside from a couple of scenes that bookend the story, Daddio takes place from inside a cab during a late-night ride from JFK airport to midtown Manhattan.  The chatty though cordial driver, Clark (Penn), breaks the ice with his passenger (Johnson), and the two proceed to click.  Not romantically, but in a manner that is meant to be cathartic and refreshing.  The woman is texting someone during breaks in the conversation, someone who is sexting and persists to receive her physical touch (though some risqué pictures would do).  Clark may be communicating through a thin wall, but he can pick up on the uncomfortable vibes his passenger gives off whenever she looks down.  He’s curious but cautious and, when they can finally talk face-to-face at a standstill while an accident is tended to on the road, he wants to help her as best as he can.

There are various different factors at play in Daddio: the limited space, maintaining the audience’s interest while also moving the story along accordingly, a seemingly quaint plot being commanded by two heavyweight performers, sustaining the illusion of this complete cab ride.  And yet, Christy Hall doesn’t break a sweat, or lose our focus.  Daddio is a multifaceted, small-scale juggling act that’s treated like a proper adult drama, featuring two engaging characters who are consistently revealing new growth to themselves and to each other.  Hall shows exceptional talent handling the theatrical side of Daddio and providing a cinematic scope of this story.

By the end of the cab ride, audiences will be begging to take another spin around the block.  You simply don’t want this movie to end.

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Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie