Trucker

I had the opportunity to see "Trucker" the other day and I loved the flick. The cast did a great job and the look and lighting of the film added to the tone.

Michelle Monaghan plays Diane Ford, a long haul truck driver, who has her carefree and relationship free life style upended when a medical emergency forces her to take in the child she abandoned 11 years before. Peter's father, played by Benjamin Bratt, is sick with cancer and his girlfriend Jenny, played by the great Joey Lauren Adams is stuck with other obligations and has to leave the kid with Diane. Peter, played by Jimmy Bennett, is just as cross as his mother at the situation. The film deals mainly with Diane and Peter reconnecting and the change that happens in both their lives.

Monaghan kills the part of Diane. She walks fast, talks fast, drives fast, and drinks hard. She refuses to let anyone get close to her including her best friend Runner, played by Nathan Fillion.

In the days after Peter shows up you can see Diane struggling with it. It seems to bring back the memories from the time the kid was born and all the baggage she ran out on but she can't run away this time.

Both Diane and Peter feel their away around each other since they don't know one another that well. We do see some sparks of maternal feelings from Diane and the kid begins to soften in his anger toward his mom.

What got me was seeing Diane's raw emotions at times in her eyes. Kudos' to Monaghan for bring that out in the character. And her character arc is not cliché' or predictable in the least. The film kept my interest for the whole 90 minute running time.

I don't get to see to many great female characters in many films but it was great to have the opportunity to see Diane and get a taste of her long journey.

What embodies the lonely, self-dependent person than the trucker? Hours upon hours of driving with nothing but some music and one's own thoughts. We've seen this protagonist before, just not in the form of the beautiful Diane (Michelle Monaghan) cussing and driving a truck. The opening scene with Diane getting a quick sexual fix, pulling out a cigarette and hitting the road without saying more than a word or two is not exactly original character development, but James Mottern's debut film hits a notably real chord in all its silence and familiarity.

When Diane gets stuck with Peter, an 11-year-old boy who as it turns out is the son she abandoned an infancy, suddenly "Trucker" has the workings of an "unlikely pair go on a road trip comedy." Fortunately, that tired concept of two people who don't like each forming a bond pretty much ends after the first third of the film and everything becomes much more real. After all, Diane is watching Peter because his dad, her ex-husband, is dying of colon cancer -- not your typical circumstance. And rather than Diane and Peter slowly reconnecting as mother and son throughout, there are much more ups and downs.

Occasionally "Trucker" will dip into cliché, namely in its handling of mother-son dialogue. Peter is a smart kid with real kid issues of wanting to be loved and showing it by provoking adults, but a couple times Mottern has him drift into the kid who says something intelligent and revealing about the older character who is frozen by the comment and considers it in a lingering camera shot at the end of the scene. Mottern keeps the film quiet and subtle for so much of it and these techniques put little cracks into his vision.

But Mottern must be thankful for this strong core cast. Monaghan excels in her first dramatic starring role. Diane is not the most complicated of characters to solve, but Monaghan keeps her from ever becoming an open book. Her lone wolf speak-your-mind mentality is much more at odds with the small kernel of her that wants to make meaningful connections with the people who have suddenly become close to her. The young Jimmy Bennett also impresses as Peter, having a lot more scenes requiring self-awareness and meaningful discussion that most child actors. Nathan Fillion, who plays Diane's friend Runner also works his charms and Benjamin Bratt as the dying father earns our sympathy quickly despite his minimal screen time.

"Trucker" could have done with half the number of driving in a truck to contemplative indie music transition sequences, but that's just the kind of film it is. It has that timeless, expected story line of two people who slowly forge a relationship they didn't think they wanted but both need, yet some unpredictable moments and solid performances throughout that keep its message fresh a create genuine sympathy for its characters.

~Steven C

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Great acting all around in this gritty indie drama, but especially from Michelle Monaghan who does a fantastic job as Diane Ford, a self-reliant trucker who is forced to give up her carefree lifestyle (of drunken one night stands) and take on the responsibility of caring for her 11-year-old son when his father ends up in the hospital.

You really want her character to succeed here which helped move the story along because the plot wasn't all that original. However in saying that I've never seen the estranged child reuniting with wayward parent done in quite this way before either.

All the characters here are damaged in one way or another and the story as a whole is somewhat heartbreaking. Nathan Fillion is always a treat to watch, he is just so likable and it was nice seeing him play a different sort of role. The boy who played the son was also kind of amazing. Benjamin Bratt was a surprise in a supporting role. Ultimately this made me want to hit the road. 03.13

I was able to see this film at the Austin Film Festival 2008. Saw it twice actually, since Natnan Fillion's number one fan wasn't able to go the night I had it on my calendar. Despite problems with the script (didn't always ring true) and definitely with the dialogue (again, problems with truth, and reality), Nathan, Michelle, and Jimmy give fine performances. Dialogue weakness, I would guess, would be a tough thing for an actor to overcome, but Nathan sails through it with flying colors. I would have liked to have asked the director why he chose sepia tones for some of the scenes - they simply didn't fit with the message/action on screen. I'd ask, but he'd probably not answer, like in the Q&A at the Sunday evening screening. (What, me bitter? No.) If I had to guess, I'd say that the director makes some rookie errors since this was his first narrative; and, it appears he was more interested in being an "artiste" rather than telling the audience a story. Overall though, I enjoyed the picture, particularly Nathan Fillion, Michelle Monaghan and Jimmy Bennett.

And it is her movie though her kid in this movie is impeccable and as convincing as she is. I wonder what his age is. Oh well. Michelle does not attempt to maintain her looks as Diane Ford. Trucking is not an easy career and it would take a special kind of woman to do it. Knowing that Michelle actually learned how to drive an 18-wheeler for this part proving she is that kind of woman. In fact, she told herself that if she didn't learn how to drive that truck, she would refuse the part.

That's astounding when you consider how good she is as an actor. The thing about good looking women is, many of them don't seem to have a real mind working behind the smile. Michelle leaves no doubt there's a mind there, and a real personality to contend with too. It's sheer enjoyment to watch her and she's in almost every frame. The reason is obvious, she is capable of moving the story along almost by herself.

The story is fairly straight forward, mom deserts husband and son to live a life on the road, free to do as she likes. Years later she has to take temporary care of that son and finds herself succumbing to her maternal instincts. You see her thrash about unwilling to give up her freedom, but mostly it's a gradual disillusionment with her fairly empty life, despite the same sort of resistance coming from her boy.

I enjoyed the movie a lot and haven't seen any actress do a better job bringing a character to life in years. It was quite impressive how well this new director was able to capture and enhance Michelle's performance. The Academy would be shooting itself in the foot if it didn't recognize Michelle for the rare resource that she is.