Trucker

Directed By: James Mottern

Review By: Shane Morton

Trucker is the tale of a female truck driver named Diane Ford (Michelle Monoghan), who once upon a time gave up a life for the simple carefree world of driving a big rig.  When her ex husband Len (Benjamin Bratt) gets sick with cancer her 11 year old kid Peter (Jimmy Bennett) has to come and live with her.  He is not at all happy by being dropped off on the doorstep of a mother who abandoned him.  He trusts her less than Diane trusts anyone.  Unsure of each other the two spar their way through a relationship.  Diane seems to have only one friend in her life and that is Runner (Nathan Fillion).  Her simple and quiet life of no commitments has come to an end and with Runner and Peter now in her life, will she be able to evolve into what she needs to become?  What follows is a beautiful story of love and redemption.

I truly love this film.  Michelle Monoghan gives what might be her best performance yet in this movie.  She captures perfectly the spirit of what it means to be free and the fierceness of someone being trapped and caged by their actions or past.  Her nuanced performance is truly remarkable.

The supporting cast is also a coupe for this film.  Nathan Fillion is perfect, as the lost soul trying to find his way and stumbling into love.  Benjamin Bratt gives a nice performance of a man coming to terms with his death.  The scene between his son and him in the hospital bed is heartbreaking.  Joey Lauren Adams as his girlfriend is a delight as always.  Jimmy Bennett is fantastic as the kid losing his father and teaching his mother to love.  And as an added bonus, Bryce Johnson plays Runner’s brother in law who has a grudge against Diane.

The sharp script by Mottern captures the need and fear of these characters perfectly.  His keen eye and tight direction keep this film well paced and pulls out all the punches.   A great soundtrack was put together for this film too.  Hopefully this film will get a wide release.  It definitely deserves it!