MOVIE REVIEW
Trucker (2009)
Kevin Estrada/Trucker Productions
Set against the vast expanse of the American West, James Mottern’s “Trucker” tells the story of a lone wolf who’s an archetype in every way but these: She’s a woman and a mother. As played by Michelle Monaghan, Diane is as hard-nosed and rugged as the California dessert she inhabits, prone to spending weeks on the road driving her truck, aggressive random sexual encounters and some serious drinking.
The picture, which resists the pull of easy catharsis and obvious emotion, depicts the ways her personality modifies when circumstances find her caring for the adolescent son Peter (Jimmy Bennett) she abandoned more than a decade ago. The story of the reformation of a mother-son bond has been told many times before, while the relationship traverses the predictable range from mutual disgust and unease to powerful love.