Monaghan, a well-known actor in popcorn fare like “Mission: Impossible III,” “Eagle Eye,” and “Made of Honor,” shows as she did in Ben Affleck’s “Gone Baby Gone” that she’s got acting chops to match her looks. This is an authentic, full-bodied, three-dimensional portrayal of a woman who thinks she knows where she’s going but has clearly lost her way. “Trucker” (an unfortunate, generic title) is her triumph, one of the best performances you will see in this, or any other, year. As her buddy, Fillion is charming and perfectly cast, while in just one scene Bratt is terrific, giving strong shading to a dying man who became frustrated by Diane’s fierce independence and long absences.

Read the full review here www.backstage.com

The movie steadfastly avoids histrionics, opting instead for the quieter truths of a mother caring for her son, much to her surprise and in the only way she knows how. It takes place in the long shadows, dimmed lights and dusty roads of a setting that befits a story centered on such isolation and amplifies the impact of the close bond that develops between Diane and Peter. “Trucker” is a movie for audiences that value a particular strain of subtle naturalism that one rarely sees on the big screen anymore, a nostalgic rehashing of the days when movies didn’t need to telegraph every last detail.

Review by Robert Levin
For full review Click here

Michelle Monaghan was on the brink of inhabiting forever the thankless role of the good-looking, plucky female in action movies about men (“Mission: Impossible III”). She was excellent in “Gone Baby Gone,” and here she confirms her talent. Jimmy Bennett, who was 11 or 12 at the time of shooting, has been good in heavy-duty projects before (“Orphan”) and played the young Captain Kirk in “Star Trek” (2009), but here shows a subtlety and command of tone that is remarkable. (It’s time for him to start billing himself as James. He’ll be relieved when he’s 20.) Together these actors create an abrasive relationship that sidesteps all sentimentality, in a film that correctly ends when a lesser film would have added half an hour of schmaltz.

Monaghan is Diane Ford, a trucker who just paid off her own rig. She’s 30-ish, cold, hard-drinking, promiscuous, a loner. Bennett plays her son, Peter. She left him with his father Len (Benjamin Bratt) soon after his birth, has stayed away, doesn’t like kids — or men, either, although she uses them. One man (Nathan Fillion) has been her best friend for four years, but that involves getting drunk together and never having sex.

Len gets sick. Colon cancer. He’s been living for years with Jenny (Joey Lauren Adams), who now needs time to care for him. It’s up to Diane to look after the kid. She doesn’t want anything to do with him. “Just for a few weeks,” Jenny pleads. Just until Len gets better. Sure.

You are anticipating, as I did, that “Trucker” would turn into one of those predictable movies where the mother and son grow to love each other. It doesn’t end with mutual hate and abandonment, but it damn near does. The kid is as tough as his mom. “Answer me!” she says. “I don’t talk to bitches!” he says. Len and Jenny seem nice enough. Where did he learn to talk like that? Little pitchers have big ears.

I concede the story arc is fairly predictable, assuming neither one murders the other. But Mottern and his actors take no hostages. Diane is hard and tough, and stays that way. Her son is angry and bitter, and stays that way. Does they need to love and be loved? Sure. We know that, but they don’t. By the end of the film, she hasn’t called him “Peter” and he hasn’t called her “Mom.” He’s “kid” or “dude,” and she’s “you.” They have to be together whether they like it or not, and they know it.

That said, Monaghan makes Diane more sad than off-putting. She isn’t a caricature. She works hard, values her independence, is making payments on her small suburban home on an unpaved street, is living up to her bargain with herself. The movie spares us any scenes where she’s “one of the guys.” It opens after a one-night stand with a guy who tries to be nice, but she doesn’t need a nice guy in her life. Nor does she need to be nice with Peter, but one thing she does do: She’s always honest with him and speaks with him directly, and I think he knows that. Her performance clearly deserves an Oscar nomination.

Peter is loved by his father and Jenny. He hasn’t been mistreated. He probably senses how sick his dad really is and knows he wasn’t parked with Diane because anyone wanted him there. He’s been told things about his mother that are, strictly speaking, true. She did leave him and Len soon after his birth. She does want to avoid seeing him. He says something revealing that he knows of her promiscuity, although he may not quite understand it.

What Mottern does is lock these two characters in a story and sees what happens. Something will have to give. The supporting performances by Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt and Joey Lauren Adams are precisely what is needed: direct, open, no “acting,” good tone control. They are good people, but very real people, with no illusions about life.

I value films that closely regard specific lives. I know they usually must have happy endings. Not always. Haven’t we all learned to expect certain things in a story about a mother and a son? Aren’t those things in fact generally true to human nature? I hope to feel elevation at the end. But a film should earn it, not simply evoke it. “Trucker” sets out on a difficult and tricky path, and doesn’t put a thing wrong.

rogerebert.com

Michelle Monaghan on the other hand gives her most personal and powerful performance of her career. Her dedication to Diane is some of the finest work displayed on screen this year and is surely to be in serious consideration for an Oscar nomination. Monaghan devotes her mind and heart into one of the most unlikable characters and demands our respect and attention, something not easily attained by an actor. Her screen chemistry with Jimmy Bennett is some of the most natural and beautiful scenes seen in quite sometime, despite it being filled anger and acrimony.

Despite Monaghan being the best chances of the film to garner awards consideration this season, the unsung hero is Nathan Fillion who gives the most tender and heart warming supporting turn of the year thus far. As I’m sure I might be in the minority for the praise of this actor, I feel inclined to give a superb performance its proper due. I admire it greatly.

Other strong aspects of the picture lie in the cinematography of Lawrence Sher is should find himself with an Independent Spirit Award mention this year as well.

The film is definitely worth a watch and as it may not fit well with everyone, you have to admire the attempt nonetheless. Michelle Monaghan and Nathan Fillion give some of the best works of the year and it’s always great to see the birth of a writer/director like James Mottern and where he could go in his career. Trucker is definitely worth the watch.

Clayton Davis – via IMDB

More details will be available soon.

http://www.fliff.com

Michelle Monaghan and “Trucker” are the feature article (and front page) for the August PTC Challenge magazine.  We’ve posted part of the article below.

“Michelle was so dedicated to the part of Diane Ford,” says Mottern. “I asked her if she would take a few driving lessons and not only did she agree, but she insisted on getting her driver’s permit so she could operate the truck during filming. And she did! At the time she didn’t even know how to drive a stick shift but damned if she didn’t get her permit and get in that truck and pull it off. You should’ve seen her on the splitter. It would’ve taken your breath away. So every time you see Michelle driving in the movie, it really is her driving. No filming trailers, no computer graphics, nothing. Just Monaghan behind the wheel.”

“It was amazing,” says an enthusiastic and proud Monaghan. “I was one of those kids growing up who pumped her arm up and down when the truck came past, and now it was me behind the wheel. My dad and brother both have their CDL so they were really impressed. I was so nervous my first time on I-10. I can’t even drive a regular stick shift but now I can drive an 18-wheeler. Reverse parking was the hardest, and double clutching. I hope truck drivers know that I appreciate what they do.”

With his leading lady opting to earn her CDL and gain an appreciation for the trucking industry, many directors would probably be hesitant, if not terrified, to watch their Hollywood star attraction cruise on down the highway. However, for Mottern, there seemed no choice but to accept that Monaghan was climbing into the driver’s seat.

“Monaghan has nerves of case-hardened steel,” Mottern explains. “She got in that truck and got out on the freeway and opened it up and there was never a moment where I thought I wasn’t going to come out on the other end with all my fingers and toes. Not one. She’s a red-blooded American woman with guts to spare and she drove that rig with a 53-foot trailer! It was like riding with a fighter pilot or maybe a bull rider. Seriously. That girl’s got cowboy in her soul.”

Monaghan is also credited as executive producer of the movie. “It was something I always wanted to do,” explains Monaghan. “It was great to be able to be a part of filming decisions.” Monaghan plans to continue her role as a producer in future projects.

“Trucker” is slated as an independent film and has made several appearances at various film festivals in the United States and Canada. The film is scheduled for national theater release in October, followed by a DVD release in January 2010.

You can read the full article in the magazine or visit the PTC Challenge Magazine website.

“Trucker is a star-making performance for Monaghan, much the same as Working Girl once put Melanie Griffith on the map. Look for a lot of awards buzz on her this fall. James Mottern’s directorial debut is refreshing, unsentimental, and unforgettable. Bravo!” – FOX News

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, Serenity, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog,” “Castle”) until the evening her estranged 11-year-old son, Peter (Jimmy Bennett, star of Robert Rodriguez’s upcoming film Shorts) is unexpectedly dropped at her door.

Burdened with this new responsibility and seeing the life of freedom she’s fought for now jeopardized, Diane steps reluctantly into her past– at least for now, while his father Len (Benjamin Bratt) is in the hospital, and looks sidelong at an uncharted future that is not as simple or straightforward as she had once believed possible.

“Michelle Monaghan – the sexy Gone Baby Gone actress is generating sizzling chatter for an outstanding performance in James Mottern’s indie Trucker. Monaghan’s perf could generate some serious critical and awards attention.” – andthewinneris.blog.com

Opening at the Village East Cinemas and other selected theatres.

For more information, please visit www.montereymedia.com

Trucker was awarded the Best Narrative Feature Jury Award at the 18th Woods Hole Film Festival held July 25th – Saturday 1st August.

The Woods Hole Film Festival is an eight day showcase of independent film featuring daily screenings, workshops, panel discussions, staged readings, special events, parties, awards ceremony and more.

More information can be found on the Woods Hole Film Festival website at www.woodsholefilmfestival.org