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A performance to watch: Michelle Monaghan in Trucker

Michelle Monaghan is having quite a moment—the sexy Gone Baby Gone actress is not only set to star opposite Patrick Dempsey in next week's sure-fire blockbuster hit Made of Honor (5/2, Sony), but is also generating sizzling chatter for an outstanding performance in James Mottern's low-budget indie Trucker, which I caught at it's world premiere screening last night at the Tribeca Film Festival. If this very solid film gets picked up and is given a decent release, as it almost surely will be—The Weinstein Company's Harvey Weinstein and LionsGate's Tom Ortenberg were among the potential buyers in attendance last night—then Monaghan's perf could generate some serious critical and awards attention.

Monaghan's role strikes me as something of a cross between Charlize Theron's in North Country (in which Monaghan also had a small part) and Maggie Gyllenhaal's in Sherrybaby.She portrays Diane Ford, a hardened woman who leads a life on the road as a trucker and does everything she can to avoid the domestication that threatened her as a teenager when she accidentally became pregnant. She gave birth to a son, but was too scared of motherhood to stick around, and reached an agreement with the father (Benjamin Bratt) that he would care for the child and she would not have to see him.Now, eleven years later, the kid's father is in the hospital with cancer, his new girlfriend is unable to care for the kid, and guess who (played very well by 12 year old Jimmy Bennett) shows up at the door? The film chronicles the evolution of Monaghan's relationship with not only her son but all of the people and world around her (including Nathan Fillion of Waitress and Desperate Housewives, who plays a key role), and packs a surprising punch.