Trucker

Diane Ford (Michelle Monaghan) is an independent long haul trucker. She lives alone and has one night stands. Runner (Nathan Fillion) is her married drinking buddy. Her ex-husband Len Bonner (Benjamin Bratt) is in the hospital with cancer. His girlfriend Jenny Bell drops off Diane's son Peter (Jimmy Bennett) for three weeks. Both are estranged from each other. With schedules to keep, Diane has to take Peter on the road.

It's a small indie with Monaghan doing her some of her best acting. It's an unrelenting role. She does a good job although it's not so terrific that it elevates the movie into the stratosphere. The story is a meandering trip of personal growth to find her maternal side. Her tough outer shell has no easy answers. It's a solid indie.

Diane Ford (Michelle Monaghan), a vivacious and successful independent truck driver, leads a carefree life of long-haul trucking, one night stands and all-night drinking with Runner (Nathan Fillion) until the evening her estranged 11-year-old son, Peter (Jimmy Bennett) is unexpectedly dropped at her door due to his father's recent diagnosis of cancer. Peter hasn't seen his mother since he was a baby and wants to live with Diane as little as she wants him, but they are stuck with each other - at least for now, while his father Len (Benjamin Bratt) is in the hospital. Burdened with this new responsibility and seeing the life of freedom she's fought for now jeopardized, Diane steps reluctantly into her past and looks sidelong at an uncharted future that is not as simple or straightforward as she had once believed possible... Trucker is essentially a character study of this woman, Diane, who's a bit of lone wolf but is forced to change her life and behavior in order to be something she doesn't quite know how to be, a parental figure, a mother. Despite her initial struggle, Diane's maternal instincts do kick in at some point as she gets closer to her son, and she also comes to certain realizations regarding her love life and general lifestyle. Trucker's cinematography is great and the soundtrack (composed mainly by country music) is very fitting. Michelle Monaghan was great as Diane and this was probably the most challenging role of her career so far. With no make up and stripped of most of her femininity, Monaghan really did personified this tough woman, alienated from society who's life has taken a toll from being constantly on the road with no real connection, no real relationships. Nathan Fillion did a good job too, giving a tender and genuine performance. Jimmy Bennett, the kid, was pretty good as well. Overall I enjoyed Trucker but I do think the film lacks a little something, I'm not sure if it's development, or if the film is too predictable but there's something missing here. Obviously, films about small town life are usually not very eventful and that's why Trucker relies so much on the acting and on its cinematography but I think the film needed something more. Having said that, Trucker is a pleasant surprise and a very promising debut by director James Mottern.

7/10

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.

Q1: Is Michelle Monaghan the ultimate woman? (Only men need answer, or try to). The question is asked seriously, and, you will shortly learn, lies at the heart of this venture, in its DNA, if you will. Monaghan's roles usually lean in that direction. In Mission Impossible, she was Tom Cruise' only vulnerability, and to rescue/avenge her he was willing to risk a world war. In Source Code, Jake Gyllenhaal was willing to bend the very fabric of Space and Time just to be with her; in Made of Honor Patrick Dempsey not only was willing to let go of his swinging bachelor life but almost invaded Scotland to win her; and in Shane Black's KISS KISS BANG BANG she was the ultimate prize, the lost love from your childhood that Robert Downey was granted one final chance at. Against this backdrop, we start to see where this film came from. Either Monaghan or her agent (pick one) was getting concerned over this trend and decided to put her in a "real" part, cast against type, to show that she can play more than one role.

Q2: Does the film work? Yes and no. Yes Michelle can act, and all the players do a fine job of playing parts so gritty you can practically smell the perspiration. Nathan Fillion strays outside his comfort zone – which is TV – and does a nice job. Benjamin Bratt, a generally under-deployed resource, steals every scene he is in. Which is not too hard, because the script and director keep everything on a low boil for pretty much the entire time.

Q3. Does Monaghan's character have Aspbergers? This was not an issue when the film was made, but with the benefit of hindsight, this would explain a lot. If you think so, tell your friends on the Aspie boards.

Q4. Do we really care if Monaghan's body of work will be remembered as skewing to the same role over and over? The real secret of TRUCKER, a fine little film in its own right, is that Monaghan was (and arguably still is) brilliant at playing the "coveted heroine" role and, if it ain't broke, you probably shouldn't try to fix it. In this context, TRUCKER becomes less an indie drama and more a guilty pleasure for Monaghan's legion of fans. Male fans,we should add. But you already guessed that.