Two people in a cab talking is an ambitious idea for a play, let alone a movie. It’s also the perfect vehicle (no pun intended) for artists to show the power and beauty that can come from starting a conversation with someone you’d otherwise never cross paths with.Daddio, which waswritten and directed by playwrightChristy Hallin her feature film debut, does exactly that. The wonderfully realized drama is an impressive two-hander betweenDakota Johnson, who plays Girlie, a young woman getting a cab ride fromSean Penn’s Clark, a veteran cabbie whose lifetime being in the car with strangers has made him very observant.
After the rudimentary, inevitable pleasantries that come with such a routine task, the two start to slowly peel back the layers of their vulnerability, exposing the flaws and harsh truths of relationships, dynamics, and human behavior in the process. For a little over 90 minutes, Johnson and Penn engage in a conversation that has more turns and unexpected moments than an actual drive from JFK to Manhattan. If there’s one thingDaddiodoes, it’s make you think.
During this 1-on-1 with Collider, Dakota Johnson digs into what it was likeworking with Volume technologyon a soundstage for such an intimate, grounded drama, why she enjoyed shooting a movie in two weeks, her experience working withCeline Songfor the upcoming movie,Materialists, and what she brought to herDaddiocharacter, Girlie, that wasn’t in the script.
A woman taking a cab ride from JFK engages in a conversation with the taxi driver about the important relationships in their lives.
COLLIDER: I’m so excited to talk to you, and I wanted to congratulate you first onDaddioandAm I OK?
DAKOTA JOHNSON: Thanks!
I sawAm I OK?ages ago at Sundance and I talked to Tig [Notaro] about it a few months ago, and I’m just so glad it’s finally out. It’s really beautiful.
JOHNSON: It’s so funny that it’s out. I think we all were like, “Aw man. Well, there it goes. Dying on the shelf.”
I know. Tig’s like, “I swear it exists!”
JOHNSON: [Laughs] Yeah.
AndDaddio, another wonderful performance and movie you produced. I know you approached it like a play. What was it like rehearsing with Sean Penn and how did you know he was going to be your Clark?
JOHNSON: When we were trying to figure out who Clark was, the number one dream person was Sean Penn. And then I was lucky enough to send him the script and he read it and wanted to be a part of it, so that was amazing. It’s a magical script. It’s a magical experience and I was desperate to perform it, but also to produce it with my company was a real honor.
And you shot it in 16 days.
JOHNSON: We did.
Was there any part of that you liked? Did you like that short time or did you want more?
JOHNSON: I loved it! I loved the short time. I mean, it worked out for how we did things and how we were shooting, but it’s so great to make a whole movie in, like, two weeks. I mean, I guess it would’ve been cool sometimes if we had another day or two for certain things, but I think it all worked out perfectly.
Yeah, and you did it in the holidays, right? In the city? So that’s perfect timing.
JOHNSON: Right. Right before Christmas.
Dakota Johnson Would Definitely Use Volume Technology Again
There’s Volume technology, which was kind of made famous withThe Mandalorian. It’s really cool to see it in such a grounded drama.What surprised you working with that technology, and would you do it again?
JOHNSON: I would definitely do it again, yeah. I mean, depending on the DP, for sure. But I would. It was so wonderful for us, and while we were shooting it made it so there weren’t all these natural variables that would cause issues for us. It created a really cool environment for us because when we looked out the window we were seeing the streets of New York go by and not looking at a green screen, which also makes people look sickly. It was great.
One thing I really enjoyed about this film is that it touches on how we make snap judgments about people, kind of like judging a book by its cover when you really shouldn’t. I’m curious, how did your opinion change of your character, Girlie, from the beginning of the script to end?
JOHNSON: Well, I think from the very beginning, you’re like, “This woman is going through something,” and then when you discover what it is, and you watch her have her own discoveries of what’s happening, it’s not that your opinion changes, it’s just that you kind of grow with her, which I love.
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Was there anything that you brought to the character that wasn’t in the script?
JOHNSON: The whole way Girlie looks. Her whole look was something that I came up with, with Christy [Hall], obviously, with her permission. She was written to look quite different.
You also just wrapped, or you’re working onMaterialistswith Celine Song.
JOHNSON: Yes!
Coming off ofPast Lives, what has it been like working with her and is there anything you can tease about the project?
JOHNSON: I can’t say anything about it, but she is just an incredible human and filmmaker.
And Pedro Pascal’s in it. You can say that.
JOHNSON: He is. He sure is. [Laughs]
Is he good to work with?
JOHNSON: Yeah. The best.
I’m sure. InDaddio, what was the toughest scene to pull off, and you were like, “Wow, how did we get through that?”
JOHNSON: It’s all one scene, really, so it was kind of like, “How do we make sure that it’s incredibly seamless?” There was a lot of math involved behind the scenes of, like, “What timecode are we at on the drive on the screens to match up where we are in the scene?” It was just a lot of adjustments, always, that needed to happen in order to make an okay movie.
You made a great movie.
JOHNSON: Thanks!
This has been wonderful. It’s really an honor to meet you. I respect you a lot and all your work.
