Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn share a cab ride that could change everything in the upcoming drama Daddio

Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn buckle up for an emotional cab ride in Christy Hall’s feature directorial debut, Daddio.

Dakota Johnson is hopping in a cab to distance herself from the Madame Web fallout for Christy Hall’s upcoming drama Daddio. Setting a destination for theaters on June 28, Daddio stars Johnson (Madame Web, Fifty Shades of Grey, The Social Network) and Sean Penn (Milk, Mystic River, Dead Man Walking) in a character-driven feature about human connectivity and appreciating life’s intricate events that lead to significant changes. The highly anticipated film, written and directed by Christy Hall in her feature directorial debut, received an enthusiastic response and critical praise following its premieres at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.

Here’s the official synopsis for Daddio courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics:

Daddio celebrates the power found in those rare moments of pure human connection, even with the most unlikely person. This highly contained, yet kinetic character-study – encapsulated in one single cab ride – explores the complexities inherent to the secrets we keep, particularly the ones locked away on our phones. It’s about truth and illusion, how we so effortlessly substitute one for the other out of survival. It’s about the hurtful memories of childhood, how past trauma can manifest itself in profound ways. It’s about the dance between the pain and poetry that is the human experience.

In addition to her starring role, Dakota Johnson produces alongside Ro Donnelly through their TeaTime Pictures production studio, along with Hercules Film Fund, First Love Films, Raindrop Valley, Projected Picture Works, and Rhea Films. Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Christy Hall, Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, and Terry Dougas also produce, with Jean-Luc De Fanti, Max Work, Kostas Tsoukalas, and Christopher Donnelly serving as executive producers.

Previews for Daddio set the movie up as an emotional roller coaster careening through crowded city streets. Even though they just met, Johnson and Penn’s characters form a meaningful connection immediately, leading to intimate conversations about life, love, and seizing opportunities. The cinematography by Phedon Papamichael is quite stunning, and the limited cast presents an opportunity for Johnson and Penn to chew the scenery with gnashing, shredding bites.

Are you interested in seeing Dakota Johnson leave her search for spiders in the Amazon for an intense cab ride with Sean Penn in Daddio? Let us know in the comments section below. Also, feel free to tell us about your most intense cab ride.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.