Michelle Monaghan in Trucker

Another interesting point of light has appeared on the radar tonight, with the arrival of news about James Mottern’s Trucker, starring Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt, Jimmy Bennett and Joey Lauren Adams.

“I tried to make Trucker for a few years..one problem I was always faced with was finding a lead actress that really spoke to me on a gut level. I looked for a long time,” says Mottern. “Then I saw Michelle Monaghan in a movie called North Country. Her performance in that film is outstanding. But there’s this one scene where the character she plays is standing outside her trailer saying good bye to Charlize Theron’s character and the camera holds on Michelle for a beat, not saying a word; I saw that and it hit me like a freight train Р“There she is. Diane.”

Stephen Farber had this to say writing for THR from the Tribeca Film Festival:

Film buffs might have recognized Michelle Monaghan’s appeal in such movies as “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” “North Country” and “Gone Baby Gone.” But she hasn’t had a chance to carry a movie until “Trucker,” which had its world premiere at Tribeca and makes us realize what we’ve been missing.

Her performance elicits the same exhilarating sense of discovery that surrounded Sally Field’s breakthrough in “Norma Rae.” And there are some parallels between the two characters. Monaghan’s Diane is a bruised, ballsy woman who has made something of a mess of her life. She goes through a transformation during the course of the story and emerges as strong rather than merely tough.

The same sort of praise that set Melissa Leo on the path to awards glory last year?