'Jockey' Review
Make it stand out
R: For Language
Runtime: 1 Hr and 35 Minutes
Production Companies: Marfa Peach Company, Contrast Films, ICM Partners
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Clint Bentley
Writer: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar
Cast: Clifton Collins Jr., Molly Parker, Moises Arias
Release Date: December 29, 2021
Theatrical
Seasoned horse jockey Jackson (Clifton Collins Jr.) has weathered decades of races on the riding circuit, but he now finds himself facing what could be his last season as his health deteriorates. With the help of Ruth (Molly Parker) and a promising new horse, Jackson starts to prepare for the upcoming championship. His plans take a left turn when a budding young jockey (Moisés Arias) shows up and claims to be his son. Caught between yearning for a connection and uncertainty about his own future, Jackson confronts difficult questions regarding his legacy.
There are ample competitive sports that are prone to get you injured. Football? Yes. Baseball? Absolutely. But if there’s anything Clint Bentley’s Jockey taught me, it’s that horse racing has to be one of the most dangerous of them all. Some athletes or players just don’t know when to quit… or, in this film’s case, hang up the saddle. Jockey is a brilliant character study that explores this notion.
The aging athlete archetype is one of the few storylines that pulls me into sport dramas, a genre I usually avoid. With Jockey’s lead protagonist Jackson, you’re introduced to the Tom Brady of jockeys — one of the best in his field who’s unwilling to quit despite his aging body as his injuries start to take a toll on him. What’s compelling about Jackson is shown through his easy-going and laid-back lifestyle. Now that his party days are long gone, Jackson is a dude who likes to chill until the horse-riding season rolls up again. The film has you riding on the saddle with Jackson as he navigates this tenuous point of his life. He’s got a newfound relationship with a young jockey named Gabriel (Moises Arias) — who claims to be his son — and is risking his physical wellbeing prepping for the next season with a new horse that he believes to be his thoroughbred champion.
Part of the character’s (and the film’s) charm is the down-to-earth and genuine connections he has with people around him. Whether he’s with fellow jockeys who face similar issues as him or his manager Ruth (Molly Parker), you can tell the history and established relationship he shares with other people. Because Clifton Collins Jr. exudes such chill energy, it reflects brilliantly in this charming and complex performance he delivers. He’s written like a down-to-earth and mature person with both flaws and good intentions. But your heart warms the most when he’s paired with Moises Arias. Their father/son budding dynamic is both grade-A casting and earnest in tone. The two share facial similarities in face shape and jawline and it’s eerie. While it does go through the predictable beats and notions of the, “Are you my father?” route, the two are so entertaining to watch.
By following Jackson’s road to his last rodeo, the film provides enlightening details to make you not only respect the sport itself, but also the riders who lay their lives on the line for it. By the time the film concluded, I wrote, “Horseback riding ain’t nothing to fuck with,” in my notes. One of the lessons that struck fear into my mind is seeing how the skinnier the rider is, the faster their horse could run because it’s less weight… but they are more prone to flying into the air and breaking every bone in their body. You also see the long-term effects it has on the riders well into their later years to the extent that they have to attend both physical therapy and group therapy. The more the film educates you about what makes a good jockey and the after-effects it has on someone Jackson’s age, the more you’re concerned about his physical health. Once you see Jackson’s naked body/Collins Jr.’s physicality, you come to realize that this guy could really die. Collins Jr. pours his soul and physicality into this character and it’s honestly one of the best performances he’s given in years — and one of the best I’ve seen in 2021. I hate discussing award contenders this late in the year but I saw this movie in January and Collins has lingered in my head rent-free for months.
Director Clint Bentley explores a slice-of-life story in a vérité motion similar to Chloé Zhao’s The Rider where it brings visibility to an underseen sport with thoughtfulness and naturalistic beauty. Through his lens, you feel like you’re up close and personal with Jackson. By spending 95 minutes with him, you feel like you know his entire life story. The film takes place in Arizona and cinematographer Adolpho Veloso captures the sweeping vistas of the quiet and inviting settings Jackson resides in. It makes you want to take a trip to the state. The shots of the horseback racing sequences are so crisp and mesmerizing, they leave you breathless at times.
The film takes a familiar archetype and applies beats you see coming from a mile away, but because of its endearing and earnest heart with Collins Jr. and the strong supporting cast of Arias and Parker, Jockey runs a great, well-paced lap to its finish line. The film is never melodramatic or overly sentimental; it’s as down-to-earth and grounded as the lead’s attitude. Jockey was one of my favorite Sundance films this year and still stands as one of my favorites of 2021.
