Predictable but terrific acting especially Michelle Monagham make it absorbing and an enjoable film. Watched free on Kanopy.

One of those films without a plot. You're supposed to be gripped by a mother who has to learn to love her son. If you want 90 minutes of that, enjoy.

Two reviews of first and second viewings: 1) A film like this, which has a very simple plot, relies entirely on the skill of the actors. Everyone in the cast is up to the task, especially Michelle Monaghan. There's really no reason to like a mother who abandoned her kid and husband to go off and become a long distance truck driver, but as the story progresses, we can see that she has a heart; she just keeps it hidden. When her ex is stricken with cancer, he sends their kid Peter to stay with her. Mother and son are such strangers, Peter calls her Diane. Their relationship is, of course, contentious. He's a pain to have around when she's trying to stay on the road as much as possible so she can someday pay off her one bedroom house. Audiences will expect the usual sappy "estranged parent eventually grows to love her son" routine, but the story avoids that kind of sentiment. Suffice it to say that the two come to an understanding of each other. My biggest gripe with the film is the obnoxious soundtrack music, a bunch of whiny folk singers I have, thankfully never heard before. Why do filmmakers insist on using awful soundtrack music? Back room Hollywood deals, I guess. Other than that, there's a lot to recommend here: realistic characters and dialogue, skillful cinematography, and a story line that could have lapsed into utter predictability but manages to stay out of that trap. The ending is delicate and perfect. 2) I watched this film a second time, about a year after the first viewing (don't ask why). This time, I immediately saw its flaws and contrivances: Michelle Monaghan looks more like a Hollywood model than a truck driver, and her performance is strained and phony. I hated the soundtrack music even more than I hated it the first time. The story of the unwanted kid, which is supposed to pull at your heartstrings, seemed corny and melodramatic. The ending, which upon the first viewing seemed perfect, struck me as fake and affected. Moral(s) of the story: Great movies get better when watched again. Not this one. And our perception of a movie depends greatly on our mood at the time.

Diane Ford (Michelle Monaghan) lives a solitary life. She loves her job as big rig driver, alcohol, and one night stands with strangers. Her life is exactly how she wants it to be, until he ex gets sick and she's forced to take in her 12 year old son, Peter (Jimmy Bennett), a son she never wanted, and has no idea what to do with. Trucker comes across as an edgy lifetime movie, with the sick ex-husband, the angry woman with the scarred past, and the child who is going to force her to change. Unfortunately, I don't like Lifetime movies, because they are so predictable and one-sided. That is exactly what Trucker is aside from the indiscriminate sex and cursing. I found almost nothing interesting about this film, except for the chemistry between mother and son. Peter is the best part of the film, because he's this weird looking kid in heavy metal shirts, calling his mother out on all of her bull. The things he says to her are pretty shocking and quite funny, and that's the only thing I can really say I enjoyed about this movie. It's clear that the writers were going for this dark, mid-western dramatic thing, that I like to call modern dark noir, (as seen in films like Winter's Bone), but they fall well short. Trucker just doesn't have enough substance to compete with films like that and is predictable to a fault. If I were describe this film in one word, it would be boring, and that is never a good thing.

This one flew, or rather, trucked under the radar. A real gem of a film featuring a standout Michelle Monaghan performance.

fairly short (~90 minutes), solid performances by Michelle Monaghan & Nathan Fillion, but I was less impressed by the rest of the cast...

Great acting all round, somewhat heartbreaking story of some very damaged characters. Enjoyed Nathan Fillion and the boy who playd the "son" was kinda amazing. Benjamin Bratt was a surprise in a supporting role. Made me want to hit the road.03.13

Oh Lordy, I cried so much during this film. It's like my generation's Terms of Endearment. I could not get a grip on myself until towards the end. The disconnection of the mother, the fact that she had the ability to leave her baby son. I could not stand the character Diane on one level because she is obviously unbelievably selfish and self-destructive. Yet, on another level, I felt great compassion for her. All mothers whether they admit to it or not, fear being unable to establish meaningful connections with their children. This is the story of a mother who not only did not connect with her child, but abandoned him. Michelle Monaghan's character is a big drinker and uses men to fill her emptiness, which made it even more difficult to watch but at the same time made it even more riveting. As I was watching, I wanted to see myself as different than Diane, but there are self-destructive parts of her every woman struggles to face. Even though I have made much different decisions than Diane, this film made me feel I could not judge the character or her decisions. In my opinion, we are all just a few twists of fate from despair and brokenness though we will do most anything not to acknowledge that. I was shocked to see this is the first film by director James Mottern. I am looking forward to seeing what other movies he has coming up. He obviously directed the pants off Michelle Monaghan (I had never heard of her before this film and when I looked her up saw she had mostly played forgettable supporting roles). I am a big Nathan Fiillion fan and really enjoyed his scenes. I do wish he had had a bigger role. Overall, I highly recommend this film but make sure you have kleenex on hand.

Touching drama of coming to terms with unexpected changes.

Moving, Touching, Heart warming, all descriptions that can be applied to this movie. The acting is really good, some of the delivery Benjamin Bratt brought to the table were very memorable and the rest of the cast as well delivered great performances, I don't understand why the RT score is so low for this film, But I definitely suggest it, although warning, for some of you it may be tear provoking haha.

This is one of those movies where not a whole lot happens, to be honest. It's more about the progression from how a character is at the beginning to how they are at the end. Unfortunately, this film doesn't show you enough of what they're like in the beginning for the end to be as emotionally resonant as it should have been. Otherwise, it has some strong acting and powerful moments, amongst a lot of typical independent film components.

This slow-paced & character driven indie drama stars Michelle Monaghan as Diane Ford, an independent truck driver who is suddenly forced to look after her estranged young son Peter (Jimmy Bennett) after her ex husband is diagnosed with cancer and has to stay in the hospital. Now Diane has to balance her long-haul trucking career and the needs of her 11 year old son, who deliberately makes things even more difficult when he openly expresses his anger towards his mother for abandoning him as a child. This story is nothing new with it's plot that deals with the estranged sibling having to deal with unresolved issues with the parent in a road trip style storyline. But Michelle Monaghan & Jimmy Bennett both give solid performances and breathe fresh air into this cliche story. This film isn't going to be for everyone with it's slow paced plot and strong character driven performances, but all things considered I thought the storyline flowed very well and hit all the right marks. Focusing on past mistakes, broken relationships, and redemption, this film really delivered it's message perfectly. Very touching tearjerker of a movie...really enjoyed it

A very interesting small movie, great for a watch which gives a refreshing perspective to life

Excellent performance form Monaghan

Why was this made? The whole thing seemed very stilted. The acting was barely mediocre, partly due to a poor cast, but I would blame that mostly on an awful script. This movie tried to be something original, but failed in execution.

A trucker rebuilds the damaged relationship she has with her son.

great casting gives this quiet little indie the fuel to go and go it does.

Impressive performance by Michelle Monaghan and Nathan Fillion is better than usual in this little drama. The story is simple, but very toching and the cinematography and soundtrack stand out aswell.

This movie is great. Any movie where Nathan Fillon is a semi-romantic secondary player (see: Waitress) is a good movie. But this movie is better than waitress. It makes me cry. Even though it says it's at 58 percent on RT, I've watched it seven times now because it's mandatory for me to show it to people. The best thing on netflix instant...

#Trucker /B/ Predictable from basically the first frame, but it's still a pretty good film. Nice performances from the three leads.