Cinematical Reivews Trucker
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…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
