Purely Joyful Movie!

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Trucker is a very, very good film that's only let down in the end by its pitiful lack of plot. Sterling performances, believable human relationships and an engrossing look at the lower rungs of the American success ladder grab your interest and make you care about what happens in this story. Then with its conclusion, it's as if writer/director James Mottern decided to go out of his way to remind the audience that there was really no structure or direction or design to anything they just watched. Now, you don't have to have a great plot to have a great movie. Michelle Monaghan and Nathan Fillion are so wonderfully relaxed and human here that more of plot might have only gotten in the way. What you cannot do, however, with a motion picture that's all about experiencing the emotion of human struggle and the slap on a finish that's dependent on unsupported, arbitrary and ridiculous-in-the-light-of-day conflicts.Diane Ford (Michelle Monaghan) is a truck driver, cruising through a life of casual isolation from the world and alienation from herself. Her existence is made up of long hauls, random one night stands and then returning home to adolescently flirt with a married man (Nathan Fillion), but she doesn't seem all that unhappy with it. Then the son she abandoned 10 years ago (Jimmy Bennett) is dropped on her doorstep because his father (Benjamin Bratt) is dying of cancer and Diane's life has to get a lot less casual.You may have heard of Monaghan's performance here and it is every bit as good as people say. She beautifully inhabits Diane Ford. From her sexual ease to her inability to refer to her 11 year old son with something other than "dude" to her growing awareness that contentment in being alone is breaking down, this is some award worthy acting. Nathan Fillion is just as good as a man so enthralled with Diane that he can't imagine life without her, even though he's not actually with her. Benjamin Bratt is also powerful in the small but crucial role of the father and Jimmy Bennett as the boy…well, he's not one of these freakish child actors who blow you away on screen, but that's probably good for him and the talent he does have is good enough.And the awkward, difficult and ultimately rewarding relationships between these people carry Trucker along on a cloud of goodwill. You like these people, even when they're not trying to be likable, and that can take things a long way. These are the kind of characters where you actively want them to have a happy ending.What makes a very good film like this great are the obstacles put in the way of that happy ending and that's where Trucker breaks down on the side of the road. There are two interrelated issues that come to a head at the end of this story. Will Diane and her son stay together? Will Diane exchange her selfish and deleterious independence for some sense of belonging? With the first, there's never any question at all. I know there's supposed to be a suspension of disbelief, but you've got to be a massively credulous moron to think for a nanosecond that her son might wind up anywhere but with Diane. Monaghan and Bennett do everything they can to create and sustain some doubt, but Writer/director Mottern's plot doesn't do anything to establish and build up any possible alternative to Diane and her son staying together. There's only one other potential destination and Mottern does nothing to make it seem even vaguely credible.With the second, it's first dealt with when Diane and her married "friend" finally acknowledge their love for each other. But first we're told they've been doing this dance for 4 years. Now, Diane's independence explains why they're not married or together in some other way. But why haven't they boinked in 4 years when from their first moment we see them together they're practically drooling over each other? Again, the plot doesn't do the work to justify their chastity. And then there's the big moment at the end where Diane is confronted with the consequences of her aimless and self-centered ways. Well, aside from not matching the tone and feel of the rest of Trucker, that big moment turns on a character who hasn't been heard from or seen on screen for over an hour doing something that not only make no sense in general, it doesn't fit anything previously set up about the character or his agenda. When the big moment happened, I wasn't even sure it was the same character at first because his reappearance and actions are so out of the blue. Again, if that's how things were going to conclude, the plot needed to do a lot more work foreshadowing or at least rationalizing it.With a plot that competently introduced, sustained and exacerbating a series of conflicts to lead to a satisfying ending, Trucker would have been a great motion picture. Without one, this is still very, very good and more than worth your time and trouble. Give it a look.

Grossly under-rated film. True its theme is old stuff, but Michelle's performance should have garnered more attention. I just saw it on TV and didn't even know it existed. I hope the cable exposure gets it some more attention. Nathan had a great relaxed feeling to his acting and was pretty charming as the friend. Ben Bratt was surprisingly believable in the thankless role of the Dad... better writing could have elevated his role, but that would require more depth than the writer may have at this stage...I was riveted to Michelle and didn't know how it would end up decision-wise...I thought the set up for her decision was a bit over contrived to show her change.. could have been far more subtle . Her beautiful facial work could have handled it without the extra drama. Might have been more powerful.Still... she deserved at least an indie nomination..

I had the opportunity to see "Trucker" the other day and I loved the flick. The cast did a great job and the look and lighting of the film added to the tone.Michelle Monaghan plays Diane Ford, a long haul truck driver, who has her carefree and relationship free life style upended when a medical emergency forces her to take in the child she abandoned 11 years before. Peter's father, played by Benjamin Bratt, is sick with cancer and his girlfriend Jenny, played by the great Joey Lauren Adams is stuck with other obligations and has to leave the kid with Diane. Peter, played by Jimmy Bennett, is just as cross as his mother at the situation. The film deals mainly with Diane and Peter reconnecting and the change that happens in both their lives.Monaghan kills the part of Diane. She walks fast, talks fast, drives fast, and drinks hard. She refuses to let anyone get close to her including her best friend Runner, played by Nathan Fillion.In the days after Peter shows up you can see Diane struggling with it. It seems to bring back the memories from the time the kid was born and all the baggage she ran out on but she can't run away this time.Both Diane and Peter feel their away around each other since they don't know one another that well. We do see some sparks of maternal feelings from Diane and the kid begins to soften in his anger toward his mom.What got me was seeing Diane's raw emotions at times in her eyes. Kudos' to Monaghan for bring that out in the character. And her character arc is not cliché' or predictable in the least. The film kept my interest for the whole 90 minute running time.I don't get to see to many great female characters in many films but it was great to have the opportunity to see Diane and get a taste of her long journey.

"Trucker" is amazingly...bad. I had no plans to see this film at Tribeca, but when a kind soul 'gifted' me two tickets just prior to the sold-out screening...I could not resist as I am a big fan of Michelle M. (loved her in "Gone Baby Gone").Reading the director's comments in the program prior to the film, I suddenly became excited as he was apparently heavily influenced by great 70's films like "The Last Detail" and "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore." Unfortunately, once the film began...all hope for anything remotely fresh or interesting ceased. What a boat load full of cliché after cliché. Michelle M. with all of her star power, can barely muster the strength to give this turkey any legs.When the film ended, I just sat in my seat and wondered how does this trite...been there done that 100 times over...sad wanna-be "auteur" film get made? Michelle's new rom-com opens next weekend with Patrick Dempsey...I have higher hopes for that one.