“Daddio”: Closed session between Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn

A 99-minute conversation between Sean Penn and Dakota Johnson Daddio…and it's less flat than you'd expect.

She (Dakota Johnson) gets into a taxi upon arriving at the New York airport. He (Sean Penn) is the driver. He speaks a slightly archaic language, betraying his age, his generation, and his prejudices. She seems far away. Until the driver starts a conversation.

She answers his questions while responding to her lover's rude text messages. The conversation soon takes a more personal turn, as their interactions are immediately placed under the prism of traditional female-male relationships. It does not take long for the difference between generations to become felt, as do their experiences, fears and prejudices.

He explains to her how men work—“the one who dies with the most toys wins”—and women—“a woman wants to feel attractive and desired”—he explains her relationship with her lover, giving her “clues.” She describes her work as an IT analyst, where the world is viewed through the prism of “0”s and “1”s in computer parlance.

Obviously, the two visions of life are completely opposite, even irreconcilable. The journey is filmed in real time (the actors were in the studio, in post-production, adding images that give the illusion of movement across the Big Apple), and the viewer follows the development of the conversation, this spontaneous intimacy that develops between two strangers whose paths will never cross again, which generates extraordinary secrets.

We engage in this game of complete honesty, while wondering how far it will last, especially as the actors succeed in convincing us and including us in this improbable closed door. Are we disappointed? Yes and no…yes because we wanted more, no because this expected “more” would end up being too much.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Daddio In theaters across the province starting June 28.