Trucker

Director James Mortern and Actress Michelle Monaghan

My first screening Friday was Trucker starring Michelle Monaghan. Yes, she has a fluffy, mainstream romantic comedy with Patrick Dempsey coming out next week but this week she was the polar opposite. Trucker is the story of a young woman big rig driver based out of a depressing desert town in California. She is completely independent to a point where she seems detached and guarded against everyone she interacts with. We learn that she has an 11-year-old son from a previous and short-lived marriage but when the son shows up at her door, she wants nothing to do with him.

Trucker becomes a gritty and emotional journey of mother and son learning how to love each other. There are some breathtaking shots of the “Great American West” along the trucker’s route and phenomenal performances by the small cast (including actors Benjamin Bratt, Nathan Fillon, and Jimmy Bennet). Sniffling was heard throughout the theatre during the hospital scene between father, played by Benjamin Bratt, and son, played by Jimmy Bennet, when the father tells his son that he is dying and explains to him what it means to do good in life. The audience falls into the trap of believing that is the emotional climax of the film but a more gruesome and dramatic climax is still to come.