“Tadeo”: A closed session between Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn

Sean Penn and Dakota Johnson chat for 99 minutes Dad… It’s less flat than you might expect.

She (Dakota Johnson) takes a taxi upon arrival at the New York airport. He (Sean Penn) is the driver. He speaks a somewhat archaic language which betrays his age, his generation and his prejudices. She seems to be somewhere else far away. Until the driver starts the conversation.

She answers her boyfriend’s questions while answering his rude text messages. The conversation quickly takes a personal turn, and their interactions are immediately placed under the prism of traditional female-male relationships. It doesn’t take long for the generational difference to make itself felt in 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 wanted” – he dissects her relationship with her boyfriend and gives her “clues”. He describes his work as an IT analyst, seeing the world through the prism of the “0s” and “1s” of computer language.

A priori, the two visions of life are diametrically opposed and irreconcilable. The journey is filmed in real time (both actors were in the studio, watching the addition of images that give the illusion of movement through the Big Apple), the viewer follows the evolution of the conversation, this intimacy arises spontaneously. Between two strangers, their paths will never cross again and an extraordinary trust is formed.

We get caught up in this completely honest game, wondering how far it will go, especially as the actors convince us and include us in this improbable closed door. Are we disappointed? Yes and no… Yes, because we would have wanted more, and no because this expected “more” would have been too much in the end.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Dad Screening in theaters across the province from June 28.