The two times I've seen this movie I've missed the first ten or so minutes. Often those initial scenes can lay the entire foundation of what follows.
Simply stated, I liked the film. The "belated" mother and "angry" pre-teen concept is rarely explored. It is normally the child/father reunification, which I suppose is more common. It is very rare for a mother to abandon her infant leaving the child's total care to the father.
The film's overall synergy is the intimate portrait through the screenplay and extremely honest dialog between mother and son. Its downfall rests in the same place.
Michelle Monagan's "Diane" is not fully believable as the runaway mother turned rig-driver. I place this malfunction on the director. Her seemingly instant acceptance as Peter's mother is hollow. However, when that bump (although it is apparent throughout the film) is overcome it becomes a bittersweet love story. Young Jimmy Bennett's "Peter" is relatively excellent. When the two characters are left alone, which is a great deal of the picture, the film works best.
Dying father "Len Bonner" (very curious name) played by Benjamin Bratt offers nothing to the overall story and script. His screen time could not be more than 8 minutes. His importance to 11-year old Peter appears distant and unrealistic. It would've been justifiable to simply have buried him at the beginning of the picture.
Overall "Trucker" is a worthwhile watch, if for nothing else than for Jimmy Bennett. I'm guessing from the IMDb stats that he was about 12 or 13 when this film was made. Further research shows he currently plays the nerdy, teen-age genius on TV's "No Ordinary Family." His career is one to watch.
Simply stated, I liked the film. The "belated" mother and "angry" pre-teen concept is rarely explored. It is normally the child/father reunification, which I suppose is more common. It is very rare for a mother to abandon her infant leaving the child's total care to the father.
The film's overall synergy is the intimate portrait through the screenplay and extremely honest dialog between mother and son. Its downfall rests in the same place.
Michelle Monagan's "Diane" is not fully believable as the runaway mother turned rig-driver. I place this malfunction on the director. Her seemingly instant acceptance as Peter's mother is hollow. However, when that bump (although it is apparent throughout the film) is overcome it becomes a bittersweet love story. Young Jimmy Bennett's "Peter" is relatively excellent. When the two characters are left alone, which is a great deal of the picture, the film works best.
Dying father "Len Bonner" (very curious name) played by Benjamin Bratt offers nothing to the overall story and script. His screen time could not be more than 8 minutes. His importance to 11-year old Peter appears distant and unrealistic. It would've been justifiable to simply have buried him at the beginning of the picture.
Overall "Trucker" is a worthwhile watch, if for nothing else than for Jimmy Bennett. I'm guessing from the IMDb stats that he was about 12 or 13 when this film was made. Further research shows he currently plays the nerdy, teen-age genius on TV's "No Ordinary Family." His career is one to watch.