Diane Ford is a hard-living, hard-working trucker of about 30 who owns her rig, has little use for men beyond the occasional one-night stand and is satisfied with her independent if unorthodox life.

Peter is her son, an 11-year-old she hasn't seen since he was a baby. When he's dumped on her doorstep because his father has cancer and there is no one to care for him, Diane is less than thrilled. So is Peter.

In the hands of Hollywood, that scenario would be played for comedy (see the upcoming, sure-to-be-horrid "Old Dogs") or sentimental melodrama. Writer/director James Mottern and stars Michelle Monaghan and Jimmy Bennett, however, make the film something far less cliched and far more memorable.

Monaghan's received some Oscar buzz for her performance as Diane for good reason. Moving forward from her excellent work in "Gone Baby Gone," she creates a character that is flinty tough and never wavers.

That doesn't mean there are no changes in her life and her relationships. But Diane is true to her independence and the fears that caused her to leave her husband and baby and never look back.

It's never entirely clear whether Diane is an admirable loner or simply selfish. But it's always clear that she's very real - which is a sign of the brilliance of Monaghan's acting.

Similarly, Bennett keeps Peter believable throughout. He softens to a degree as he lives with his unusual mom, who teaches him to play baseball but often leaves him to fend for himself. But there's no happily-ever-after mother-and-son love story in the offing. A truce between them is the best possible outcome.

"Trucker" is unusual in another sense. After Peter gets dropped off at Diane's house, she first goes to Los Angeles to confront her ex then loads him up in the semi and heads for New Mexico. That makes it appear that "Trucker" is a road movie, but that doesn't happen.

Instead, Mottern has crafted a sneakily complex story that involves three characters: Diane's neighbor Runner (Nathan Fillion), a layabout married veteran who hangs out and drinks with her but never pushes things toward sex; her ex Len (Benjamin Bratt), with whom Diane battles even as he's on his deathbed; and Jenny (Joey Lauren Adams), the woman who's been living with Len and caring for Peter.

Those three actors deliver spot-on supporting performances, again creating real people rather than fictional types. Then Mottern smartly has each of them in the picture for just the right amount of time, never allowing the focus to deviate from Diane and her relationship with Peter.

By avoiding cliches, holding to the courage of its convictions and never wavering from its characters, "Trucker" delivers a cinematic rarity: a feeling that we're watching real people live their lives. Proof of that comes after the final scene, and your first thought is, "What is going to happen to Diane and Peter now?"

Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.