As a Truck Driver for 23 years, I found this movie & the acting wonderful!!!! I am a little concerned that the "normal public" will not see the depth of these characters. I am also concerned that female drivers will be considered as less then the wonderful people they are. I would like to have seen more of the hard working and the very giving nature of the typical truck driver. Yes, life as a driver can harden a person, but there is usually a reason and I am not sure that this film has shown that. I wish that this film would have been promoted more than it has been. It truly deserves A lot more recognition for the superb acting done by all!!!!!

Q1: Is Michelle Monaghan the ultimate woman? (Only men need answer, or try to). The question is asked seriously, and, you will shortly learn, lies at the heart of this venture, in its DNA, if you will. Monaghan's roles usually lean in that direction. In Mission Impossible, she was Tom Cruise' only vulnerability, and to rescue/avenge her he was willing to risk a world war. In Source Code, Jake Gyllenhaal was willing to bend the very fabric of Space and Time just to be with her; in Made of Honor Patrick Dempsey not only was willing to let go of his swinging bachelor life but almost invaded Scotland to win her; and in Shane Black's KISS KISS BANG BANG she was the ultimate prize, the lost love from your childhood that Robert Downey was granted one final chance at. Against this backdrop, we start to see where this film came from. Either Monaghan or her agent (pick one) was getting concerned over this trend and decided to put her in a "real" part, cast against type, to show that she can play more than one role.Q2: Does the film work? Yes and no. Yes Michelle can act, and all the players do a fine job of playing parts so gritty you can practically smell the perspiration. Nathan Fillion strays outside his comfort zone – which is TV – and does a nice job. Benjamin Bratt, a generally under-deployed resource, steals every scene he is in. Which is not too hard, because the script and director keep everything on a low boil for pretty much the entire time.Q3. Does Monaghan's character have Aspbergers? This was not an issue when the film was made, but with the benefit of hindsight, this would explain a lot. If you think so, tell your friends on the Aspie boards.Q4. Do we really care if Monaghan's body of work will be remembered as skewing to the same role over and over? The real secret of TRUCKER, a fine little film in its own right, is that Monaghan was (and arguably still is) brilliant at playing the "coveted heroine" role and, if it ain't broke, you probably shouldn't try to fix it. In this context, TRUCKER becomes less an indie drama and more a guilty pleasure for Monaghan's legion of fans. Male fans,we should add. But you already guessed that.

James Mottern wrote & directed,It is first theatrical effort.I feel he will be a force to be reckoned with over the next few decades.This is a drama of the first order,It is not a happy film.It is a simple story of sad lonely people. None of them are where they want to be. Due to the cleverness of the writer & the superb acting by a non big-name cast, we go along with it and are drawn into what is occurring.Michelle Monagham's performance is an award winning one. This is not a big studio release so thusly it has no big 'PUSH' for any awards.Eleven year old Jimmy Bennett is excellent as her son. Nathan Fillon (TV featured performer)is her caring neighbor. Benjamin Bratt as her ex husband & the lads father is equally great.The cinematography & song score are also first rate.THis is an art house low budget movie so as expected it did not have a decent theatrical release.I highly recommend this drama for all those who appreciate real good film.There is some violence towards the end,BUT this important & not just put in the film.Ratings: **** (out of 4) 97 points (out of 10) IMDb 10 (out of 10)

I was able to see this film at the Austin Film Festival 2008. Saw it twice actually, since Natnan Fillion's number one fan wasn't able to go the night I had it on my calendar. Despite problems with the script (didn't always ring true) and definitely with the dialogue (again, problems with truth, and reality), Nathan, Michelle, and Jimmy give fine performances. Dialogue weakness, I would guess, would be a tough thing for an actor to overcome, but Nathan sails through it with flying colors. I would have liked to have asked the director why he chose sepia tones for some of the scenes - they simply didn't fit with the message/action on screen. I'd ask, but he'd probably not answer, like in the Q&A at the Sunday evening screening. (What, me bitter? No.) If I had to guess, I'd say that the director makes some rookie errors since this was his first narrative; and, it appears he was more interested in being an "artiste" rather than telling the audience a story. Overall though, I enjoyed the picture, particularly Nathan Fillion, Michelle Monaghan and Jimmy Bennett.