The Dakota Johnson movie that caused an aeroplane incident: “Clearly not suitable”
In-flight entertainment options are generally selected in order to appeal to flyers of all ages, but Qantas got into hot water when they played a raunchy Dakota Johnson film.
Flying can often be a stressful experience, especially for cinephiles who’ve seen one too many films that end with a plane crash or disaster; however, it’s also a good opportunity to catch up on recent film and television releases during a period with no interruptions. Given that there’s not really anything else to do in a confined plane in the endless sky, watching a good movie can be a great way to pass the time.
Those who have the foresight to download their films ahead of time or have access to wi-fi on their flight might be able to afford to be picky, but some airlines tend to stream a single title for every passenger. The collective viewing experience may even resemble what it is like to see a film in theatres with an enthusiastic crowd, but it can get pretty awkward if it’s filled with R-rated material.
It was a mix of technical issues and a short-sighted selection process that the crew of a Qantas flight from Sydney to Japan ended up playing Daddio, a drama film starring Johnson and Sean Penn. After the flight failed to instil individual entertainment options for each of its customers, crewmembers chose to screen an R-rated film, unaware of the frequent abusive language, sexual references, and brief graphic imagery that appeared.
“The movie was clearly not suitable to play for the whole flight, and we sincerely apologise to customers for this experience,” a spokesperson for Qantas told The Guardian, “All screens were changed to a family-friendly movie for the rest of the flight.”
In all fairness to the crew, they couldn’t be blamed for not knowing what Daddio was, an independent film that played to mixed reviews at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival before it was picked up by the distributor Sony Pictures Classics. Although SPC is known for finding fall release dates for indie films with Oscar prospects, such as The Father and I’m Still Here, it was decided that Daddio would play in select theatres over the summer without a serious awards campaign to boot.
Any hardcore cinephiles who happened to be on the Qantas flight might not have been bothered by the film, as long as they didn’t have any young children, which was noteworthy for taking place entirely within the confines of a cab, and centring the conversation between a young woman and her older driver, played by Johnson and Penn, respectively. Since the chemistry between the leads was particularly strong, what could have been a dull and unimaginative way to shoot a film ended up being a fascinating way to achieve cinematic intimacy.
There is the downside that the two characters end up talking about a number of personal topics, including sexual relationships, and use no shortage of inflammatory profanity. It’s safe to say that any parents on the flight who were forced to cover their kids’ ears may not have been as charmed by the flight attendants’ decision to play an obscure arthouse film for the duration of a flight they couldn’t readily escape.
It’s probably best that the in-flight entertainment system was switched over to something more all-age-appropriate, as any standard Marvel or Pixar film was probably always going to be a better option. That being said, Qantas can breathe easily knowing that they didn’t choose the most unsuitable Johnson film; they likely would have received significantly more backlash had they played Fifty Shades of Grey, Suspiria, or The Lost Daughter.
