Trucker largely reminded me of another indie movie titled Come Early Morning which was written and directed by Chasing Amy’s Joey Lauren Adams (who, incidentally, also stars in Trucker). The tone of both movies features a kind of weary, weathered fondness for the southern American landscape (in Come Early Morning it’s the South, in Trucker it’s the dusty deserts of southern California). At the heart of both movies, too, are hard-edged, tough-talking women in jobs that others in the movie ridicule for not being “women’s jobs”: Ashley Judd’s character in Early Morning worked in construction while the main character of Diane in Trucker, played by Michelle Monaghan is a truck driver.

On the surface these two films might blur together in my mind as one unrecognizable narrative of the rough-around-the-edges woman learning to soften and accept love as well as give it. Trucker stands out a bit, though as a more interesting story, more layered with higher stakes. And while it’s not the most memorable movie in general, it’s captivating enough and ultimately sends a heartwarming message.

The relationship between mother and son is often uncomfortably contentious, with Monaghan’s intense Diane walking around like a stick of dynamite about to blow up. Yet, we start to understand Diane’s reasoning: she’s just not the type of woman who wants to be a steady mom. She wants to be always moving, on the road, and the kid cramps her style. Thus, when the moments that include any inkling of tenderness between Diane and Peter do come along, they are hard-earned. Nathan Fillion is extremely handsome in the movie…

• Full Review: wwwbuzzsugar.com

[Read full review with spoilers below this excerpt]

Ms Monaghan is utterly convincing as the independent woman, living a solitary life, almost devoid of joy. You feel her fierceness, confusion, and struggles. Jimmy Bennett is wonderful as the son who is lost and lonely without his father.

I went to see the film because of Nathan Fillion. I’d watch him read the phone book. His Runner is sweet, charming, and funny but as damaged as Diane, existing without much hope. There’s one scene that’s priceless. No other leading man would do what Mr. Fillion does.

The cinematography adds to the loneliness of the characters. It’s harshly bright, dusty, and dry almost everywhere and all the time. The landscape and built environment lacks any real beauty.

The story moves like typical day after day living. There’s one very emotional scene that doesn’t quite fit for me, but not enough to spoil the whole flow.

Overall, I enjoyed the film and it’s kept me thinking about Diane since I left the theater.

– Anonymous contribution

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Full Review – WARNING: Contains Spoilers

“Trucker” starring Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion, and Jimmy Bennett premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival Thursday night, April 24. First time writer-director James Mottern introduced the film and some of the cast to an enthusiastic crowd and family, friends, distributors and even some film buffs.

Ms. Monaghan plays a long-haul trucker, Diane Ford. She’s on the road for weeks at a time and then comes home only to collapse, regroup and hit the road again. The one bright spot in her life is her married friend and drinking buddy, Runner, played by Nathan Fillion. They have an unspoken attraction that’s the only exciting thing is their drab, uneventful lives. They’re both drifting and directionless.

After a night of drinking and dancing, Diane returns home to find her ex-husband’s lover has arrived with Diane’s estranged son, Peter in tow. Circumstances have delivered the boy she deserted eleven years ago to her reluctant care. How their relationship develops is the journey of the story.

She married and gave birth while very young and couldn’t cope. Her ex-husband is played by Benjamin Bratt and is a nice guy, trying his best to raise his son. Peter doesn’t want to be with his mother and is understandably angry and hostile to her.

Diane is hard as nails but she has a latent maternal instinct brought out more by Runner than her son. It’s natural that Runner and Peter bond pretty quickly and become almost interchangeable in Diane’s feelings. She doesn’t know how to open her heart to either one of them but protects them nonetheless. It’s the crack in the façade of toughness.

Ms Monaghan is utterly convincing as the independent woman, living a solitary life, almost devoid of joy. You feel her fierceness, confusion, and struggles. Jimmy Bennett is wonderful as the son who is lost and lonely without his father.

I went to see the film because of Nathan Fillion. I’d watch him read the phone book. His Runner is sweet, charming, and funny but as damaged as Diane, existing without much hope. There’s one scene that’s priceless. No other leading man would do what Mr. Fillion does.

The cinematography adds to the loneliness of the characters. It’s harshly bright, dusty, and dry almost everywhere and all the time. The landscape and built environment lacks any real beauty.

The story moves like typical day after day living. There’s one very emotional scene that doesn’t quite fit for me, but not enough to spoil the whole flow.

Overall, I enjoyed the film and it’s kept me thinking about Diane since I left the theater.

– Anonymous contribution

[Click link below to read full review ]

…Monaghan finally delivered the sort of performance I’ve known was trapped somewhere inside her, hidden behind a variety of big, flashy Hollywood films. Make no mistake, this is her film. She owns it. But is that enough to convince you to see it?

…On paper, the whole thing might make you roll your eyes — but the performances (specifically Monaghan and Bennett) are so good that you almost forget where, how and when you’ve seen this story before. It’s also welcoming to find this sort of premise told from the perspective of mother and son, instead of the recycled father-meets-estranged-daughter storyline. There’s a different connection between mother and child right off the bat, and tension is at an even higher level when both mother and son have the vocabulary of a, well, truck driver…

…The film’s best moments come wrapped in the communication struggle between Diane and her son. Mottern makes a point to not let either character call the other by their name (in order to clearly illustrate the distance between them), and so a good majority of their mother-son conversations feature the words ‘bitch’ and ‘dude.’ The loose script also allows for a nice, natural story to unfold minus all that cookie-cutter plot crap Hollywood shoves down our throats. Trucker is like Sherrybaby-lite; this is quite obviously Monaghan’s “Oscar” role, though I’m not sure there’s enough hurt and dirt in the part to get her a nod. That said, it’s still a performance you don’t want a miss. Michelle Monaghan is memorable … and I’m damn happy to write that.

• Full Review – Warning: May contain spoilers

Tribeca Blogs about the Trucker Premiere…

…What the film makes clear, however, is that Monaghan is a star. Gorgeous in a black and white dress, shiny brown hair, and a curtain of sharp bangs, she happily signed autographs, posed for photos, squealed when she reunited with Bennett, and grinned as people milled about her, calling Trucker her “Oscar® movie.” Given the strength of Monaghan’s performance, it’s clear the comment wasn’t mere flattery .

• Full Report: www.tribecafilmfestival.org

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Michelle Monaghan. If you’ve ever seen Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, you’ll get just a peppering of the greatness of this actress; but if you watch Trucker you’ll get a three course meal, dessert and a back rub—maybe more. I had watched her work in other films and had seen her in North Country; there’s this one shot in that film where, when I saw it, my heart fell into my boots. Her expression, the subtlety of the performance, and brilliance in just those few frames confirmed my desperate need to cast her. And she just absolutely owns it in this film. There is always so much going on in that exquisite face that you just cannot get it all in one viewing. She’s seriously awesome! Yeah, if you want to see this generation’s Ellen Burstyn, Gena Rowlands, Sally Field, Sophia Lauren and Jack Nicholson all rolled up into one, then I would suggest you try to make a screening because she’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

…There’s a great scene at the beginning of the film where Michelle has an interlude with a stranger. It’s pretty sexy and also visually awesome. Any of the scenes where Michelle is behind the wheel of the truck are great, because she is actually driving the truck! That’s the kind of actress she is. She learned to drive a big rig! Also, near the end of the movie there is a scene between Michelle and Nathan that is so incredibly poignant and yet, also, knee-shakingly sexy. And there is one line that Nathan delivers that, I am not making this up, has caused gasps among the audience. The scene is touching, even sweet, and gets gasps.

• Full Article: TimeOut.com