Director: Christy Hall
A late-night cab ride from JFK turns into something closer to a confessional in this two-hander built almost entirely around a single conversation.
What is Daddio about?
A woman lands at JFK and gets into a cab headed into Manhattan, expecting nothing more than a quiet ride home. Her driver, a veteran cabbie who's heard every kind of story from the back seat, starts talking, and what begins as small talk slowly turns into something more pointed -- about the relationships that shaped them both, the ones they stayed in, and the ones they walked away from. Traffic, weather, and the length of the drive stretch the conversation out until neither of them can keep hiding behind small talk. The film never leaves the cab, relying entirely on dialogue, silences, and the changing light outside the windows to carry the story from the airport to her apartment door.
Cast & crew
Dakota Johnson plays the unnamed passenger, carrying most of the film's quieter, more guarded moments, while Sean Penn plays the driver, whose blunt curiosity and easy authority slowly wear down her guard. Marcos A. Gonzalez and Shannon Gannon appear in smaller supporting roles outside the cab.
Context & significance
Daddio marks the feature directing debut of playwright Christy Hall, who also wrote the screenplay. The film's stripped-down, real-time structure -- almost entirely two actors and one location -- puts the full weight on the writing and performances rather than plot mechanics, closer in spirit to a stage play than a typical studio drama. It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival before a wider theatrical run.
Where & how to watch
Daddio is available to stream on K-Time with a free account login, including Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles for viewers who want to follow the dialogue-heavy story in Farsi. K-Time's interface is built entirely around a Farsi-speaking audience, not translated after the fact.