Trucker Directed by:  James Mottern Cast: Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt, Jimmy Bennett Running Time: 1 hr 30 min Rating: R Release Date: October 23, 2009

PLOT: A truck driver (Monaghan) begins to re-evaluate her life after her ex-husband gets cancer and she's reunited with her 11 year old son (Bennett).

WHO'S IT FOR? Any hardcore Michelle Monaghan fans out there?  Otherwise, fans of first time feature filmmakers.

EXPECTATIONS: Full disclosure: I'm a big Firefly fan so I'll see pretty much any movie with Nathan Fillion in it.

SCORECARD (0-10)

ACTORS:

Michelle Monaghan as Diane:  Best known for mediocre thrillers (Eagle Eye) and romantic comedies (Made of Honor), Monaghan attempts to get out of her box in Trucker.  As a woman with the titular job, she's a tough chick.  In her first scene she's having sex with a man in a cheap motel room before walking away without a second glance and hitting the road.  Monaghan resists the urge to ugly herself up, but with her small frame and girl next door cuteness she doesn't look like what you'd expect a female trucker to look like.  I did manage to suspend disbelief when we actually entered the story and Diane begins to deal with her son, Peter, being dumped with her after her ex-husband comes down with cancer.  Monaghan surprised me with the depth she brought to bonding with the boy.  Their burgeoning relationship actually felt genuine and I give her props for that.  I'd never thought much of Monaghan as an actress, I felt mostly indifferent to her, but after this I urge someone to give her more challenging material.  I also urge her to stay away from bad comedies. Score:  7

Nathan Fillion as Runner:  Fillion is so good, but he gets a really thankless job in this movie.  Runner, Diane's married neighbor and "friend", just hangs around Diane pining for her.  He's good with Peter and very charming, but the movie isn't about him and that's clear by the lack of attention given to his character's development.  Though he gets some good scenes in the last third of the film, it's never clear what he wants from their relationship.  He's married, and they've been friends for four years, so if he's into Diane why doesn't he just get divorced?  It would help if his wife got more time in the movie.  She's only seen as a silhouette in the doorway after Diane drops him home.  He's better than this, but I can't give him a better score, because the role just isn't there. Score:  7

Benjamin Bratt as Leonard:  Bratt plays Diane's ex-husband, Leonard, who's come down with cancer.  His name shouldn't really be above the title, because it's a pretty small role.  He's confined to a hospital bed in all his scenes and he's clearly just shown to give backstory on Diane and Peter's relationship.  The fact that you can see the seams in the structure of the film is one of its worst defects.  He does adequately in what's essentially a glorified cameo. Score:  5

Jimmy Bennett as Peter:  Bennett may be recognizable as the kid who played the young James T. Kirk in Star Trek last summer.  He does an excellent job as a conflicted preteen in this film.  As I mentioned, the relationship between Diane and Peter is the most interesting aspect of this film.  Though I'm not thrilled by the way he kept calling his  mom a "bitch" at the beginning of the movie, I liked the slow build of a relationship between these two.  Bennett felt like a real child, not cutesey, but confused, lashing out and vulnerable in turn.  It's a really strong performance and I think and director Mottern also deserves credit for bringing it out. Score:  8

TALKING: This isn't a movie that really depends on its dialogue.  Looks and actions have more meaning.  Still, it's reasonably well written. Score: 6

SIGHTS: Most of the film is shot with a handheld camera, which works better at some times than others.  A lot of the night stuff looks like it was shot without extra lights, though there are a few scenes where that's obviously not true; which kind of put me off. Score:  5

SOUNDS: Nothing exciting.  Clearly the money was spent on the talent, there was no money left for good music. Score:  4

PLOT SPOILERS

BEST SCENE: Though I've criticized their relationship in the film, I did like the scene where Diane literally drags Runner to his front door.  In a different kind of movie, it could have been hilarious, and it's the sort of thing that does happen.  Not to me of course, but to you other lushes out there.

ENDING: Everything was good, until we got to the attempted rape scene.  I just knew there was going to be some sort of sexual assault, you can't have an independent woman doing a male dominated job without some sort of rape attempt.  It just felt totally unnecessary and made me mad.  Also if she was going to be attacked, I'd expect it in one of those skeezy truck stops rather than her own house.

QUESTIONS: Is this film a vanity project for Michelle Monaghan?  Will Nathan Fillion find a better role for his considerable talents?

REWATCHABILITY: I could see Nathan Fillion's scenes again, but that's it.  It's a little too dour for me.

OVERALL

Trucker exists primarily to announce that Michelle Monaghan can act.  That's great, but I wanted a little more than that.  The movie's really about Diane moving away from her isolated existence and accepting responsibility for her son, Peter.  But the film takes way too long to get there, by the time they introduce Peter I was already invested in the relationship between Diane and Runner.  Unfortunately, that story never goes anywhere.  Fillion does what he can, but Runner just doesn't make sense.  He's married but has been Diane's friend for four years, flirting with her and trying to sleep with her.  Why he hasn't been successful, gotten divorced, told her how he feels: it sort of makes him the most ineffectual person ever.  When we finally get to the point where their mom/son relationship blossoms, everything else falls by the wayside.  A few important plot points just kind of disappear.  That said, the acting is good and if you have some extra time and money you could see this.

FINAL SCORE: 6/10