When executed well, chamber pieces are some of my favorite types of film. Allowing characters to breathe within a small and intimate setting and a short period of time enables a director to embrace a character’s unique emotional weight and add layers of vulnerability to those characters.
With a resume including Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, The Silence, and Persona by Ingmar Bergman, and a recent example of Locke starring the great Tom Hardy, it’s evident that these types of films can lead to powerful results and cinematic experiences.
As the 2024 Tribeca Festival kicked off, one of the films at the forefront of my most anticipated list was a TIFF holdover, Christy Hall’s directorial feature film, Daddio. With the 1-2 punch of Dakota Johnson and two-time Academy Award winner Sean Penn, the stage was set for what could be one of the best films of the festival.
Without a doubt, writer/director Christy Hall’s Daddio really resonated with me. It’s a film that effectively captures the dynamics of tech, relationships, sex, and life’s choices. It never punches down at one’s flaws but rather highlights them as an essential device in one’s personal growth.
Set against the backdrop of a New York City cab ride, Daddio follows the conversation between Abby and Clark as a simple cab ride turns into an intense and revealing discussion that essentially becomes a confessional booth, peeling back layers to expose their vulnerabilities and aspirations.
Christy Hall’s direction and screenplay are certainly a highlight of Daddio. Bringing complexity to both Abby and Clark’s conversation, Hall doesn’t shy away from delving into the uniqueness of in-person human connection rather than the ongoing growth of text/tech relationships. Giving the film a level of authenticity, Hall’s screenplay is both poignant and real, with the reveals feeling organic.
While some may see the revelations and themes as surface level, I found myself immersed in the conversations. Driven by the sensational chemistry and performances by Johnson and Penn, Abby and Clark offer a feeling of relatability that lends to the film’s effectiveness. Clark, a two-decade-long cab driver who has experienced a thing or two in life, and Abby, grappling with her past and current predicament, create a dynamic duo. Johnson is both strong and fragile, while Penn, in what is my favorite performance of his in years, is rugged yet understanding, leading to the perfect balance between our two leads.
The confined nature of its cab location and focus on heavy dialogue may not be the ingredient for all cinephiles to enjoy, but it’s one I was fully invested in and one that offers a rich and rewarding cinematic experience.
Daddio‘s biggest accomplishment is highlighting and elevating a new cinematic voice in Christy Hall. Her work will be on my radar going forward as she kicked off my 2024 Tribeca experience with a profound deep dive and exploration into the human condition through a simple act of conversation and a cab ride.
