Diane Ford (Michelle Monaghan) is a busy and feisty independent truck driver who lives in a California town. More than ten years ago, she walked out on her husband Len (Benjamin Bratt) and her infant son Peter for a life of more adventure and freedom than the traditional role of housewife and mother. On the road, Diane has adapted a rough and tough persona to protect herself from harm. She sees the world as an unfriendly place filled with dangers. There are one-night stands with various drifters and a comfortable friendship in town with Runner (Nathan Fillion), a married handyman who makes her laugh and enjoys regular drinking get-togethers at a local bar and dance hall.
But Diane's routine is up-ended when Len's new wife Jenny Bell (Joey Lauren Adams) arrives one day at her doorstep with eleven-year old Peter (Jimmy Bennett). She has to travel to a funeral, and her husband is in the hospital with cancer. There is no one else to look after the boy. Diane reluctantly agrees to take in her son who is just as unhappy about the prospect of spending time with her as she is with him. Both of them are very stubborn and set in their ways.
Things do not go smoothly as they hit the road together in her truck. She gets upset when the boy doesn't obey orders, and he sees her as nothing more than a selfish woman without a heart. During their travels, Diane fiercely defends Peter after he is pushed to the ground and hurt by two teenagers. Later, back home she gives him some pointers on playing baseball, and they bond in a way that surprises them both.
Trucker has been written and directed by James Mottern who has stated in an interview that he hopes it has same kind of emotional power and authenticity as independent movies such as Five Easy Pieces and Alice Doen't Live Here Anymore. It does linger in the mind as a poignant drama about the plight of women who choose a path of liberation and then arrive at a place they never thought would be possible. It also touches upon the need for nurturing felt by so many children of divorce who struggle mightily with scary feelings of abandonment. At one point, Peter declares that Diane is the most frightened person he's ever known. This mother-son reunion helps them both embrace fear and come out the other side as transformed individuals.
Special features on the DVD include a behind the scenes slideshow and "an actress prepares for her role."
