''Daddio'' is a 2023 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

produced, written and directed by

Christy Hall Christy Hall is an American screenwriter and film director. Career She is the screenwriter and director of the 2023 feature film ''Daddio (film), Daddio'' starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn. ''Daddio'' is her feature directorial debut. Hall i ...

. It stars

Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. Her accolades include an Independent Spirit Award and a nomination for a British Academy Film Award. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, Johnson made her ...

(who also produced) as a young woman returning home to Midtown

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

from

JFK International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is t ...

by cab after a trip, who unexpectedly ends up conversing with her taxi driver (

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...

). After premiering at the

50th Telluride Film Festival The 50th Telluride Film Festival took place between August 31 and September 4, 2023, in Telluride, Colorado. Marking the fiftieth edition of the festival, Alfonso Cuarón, Adam Curtis, Ethan Hawke, Rachel Kushner, Steve McQueen, and Mira Nair ...

on September 1, 2023, ''Daddio'' was released in select cinemas in the United States and Canada by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

on June 28, 2024.

Premise

After landing at

, a young woman takes a cab back to her apartment in

. During the ride, she and the cab driver, Clark, have unexpectedly honest conversations about numerous topics, including their past and present relationships, sex and power dynamics, loss, and vulnerability.

Cast

as Clark *

as Girlie

Production

The film was originally conceived as a stage play in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In October 2017, it was announced that

Daisy Ridley Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (born 10 April 1992) is an English actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Rey in the ''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy. She appeared in the mystery film ''Murder on the Orient Express'' (2017), played the title ...

would star in the film, based on a

spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...

by Christy Hall. That December, the script was included on that year's "

Black List Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

" of the most-liked unproduced scripts in Hollywood. In June 2021, it was announced that Johnson had replaced Ridley and that Penn was also cast in the film. Johnson was the one to initially suggest Penn and personally sent him the script.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

occurred in New York City and in

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, in December 2022. It was shot in 16 days. The film entered post-production in January 2023. All scenes taking place within the cab were shot on a

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...

using

on-set virtual production On-set virtual production (OSVP) is an entertainment technology for television and film production in which LED panels are used as a backdrop for a set, on which video or computer-generated imagery can be displayed in real-time. The use of OSV ...

, consisting of large

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

video screens on which digital environments were rendered. The actors performed in front of the screens in real time.

Release

''Daddio'' premiered at the

on September 1, 2023. It also screened at the

2023 Toronto International Film Festival The 48th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 7 to 17, 2023.Victoria Ahearn"TIFF reveals new programmers and other 2023 festival details" '' Playback'', April 20, 2023. The most noted change from past years was tha ...

on September 10, 2023, as part of its special screening program. Later that month,

acquired distribution rights to the film for North and Latin America as well as some European and Asian territories, scheduling it for a theatrical release sometime in 2024. It was released in the United States and Canada on June 28, 2024. ''Daddio'' was released in Germany June 27, and in Argentina June 28, 2024. The film was scheduled to be released in Russia and the CIS on July 11, 2024.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, the film made $424,091 from 628 theaters in its opening weekend.

Critical response

Peter DeBruge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Every aspect of ''Daddio'' is designed to spark conversation. But it’s sweeter and more satisfying than you might expect..." Stephen Farber of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' also gave the film a positive review, calling it "A deftly executed debut feature."

Todd McCarthy Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...

of ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' also gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Sean Penn is at his absolute best here in a tremendously engaging performance as a salty working-class guy with an endless supply of opinions and ways of drawing out his passengers, while Dakota Johnson more than holds her own as a game passenger increasingly willing to share her problems with the amateur shrink behind the wheel."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 2023 directorial debut films 2023 drama films 2023 independent films 2023 films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films American drama films American independent films English-language drama films English-language independent films Films about conversations Films about taxis Films set in Manhattan Films set in Queens, New York Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in New York City Productions using StageCraft Sony Pictures Classics films Two-handers Films scored by Dickon Hinchliffe