Jockey

I liked it a lot good acting, story, characters and maybe because I'm aging too, and have to smile while I say goodbye to some things this needs to be longer, but I have nothing more to say about the movie.

This movie about a broken down jockey at the end of his career is good, but very slow moving. Excellent acting saves this film. I think horse racing fans will like it.

I was pleasantly surprised with Jockey's narrative as it did entwine some of the Seabiscuit narratives of the hardships of jockeying while also including seedier elements of what goes on when the race is over depicted in David Milch's short-lived (10 episodes,) Dustin Hoffman led HBO series, Luck. Much of jockey was shot on location at the Surf Paradise Racetrack in Phoenix, Arizona. In my opinion, what separated Jockey from Seabiscuit is the depth Bentley gets from the actors and the writing is excellent. Bentley shares a writing credit with Greg Kwedar, whose self-claimed mission is to tell stories of human connection in difficult places. Mission accomplished as Jockey orbits around a series of multi-faceted relationships with some profound emotional depths. And what separated Jockey from Luck is the intimate focus on the jockey and less focus on stable shenanigans. Very highly recommended viewing!

Greetings again from the darkness. "You gotta tell a horse when it's time to stop running." That line of dialogue is uttered in this racing film from writer-director Clint Bentley and co-writer Greg Kwedar, but the sentiment holds true for many others, including athletes, coaches, teachers, and politicians. For those who have spent their life pushing and driving, knowing when to stop does not come naturally. We learn this is so for jockeys, as well. Clifton Collins Jr has long been one of our best and most intriguing character actors, and in a rare lead position, he becomes veteran jockey Jackson Silva. The man knows horses, but unfortunately, Father Time is catching up on the home stretch. Jackson is aging quickly as he fights to overcome a litany of injuries, including multiple broken backs. The timing for the end of one's passion is never good, and it's at this point where Jackson's long-time trainer, Ruth (Molly Parker), introduces him to "the horse" ... just in time for "the big race." Sure, it's all a bit convenient for a movie script, but it matters little, because filmmaker Bentley and actor Collins expertly capture the culture of racing in a naturalistic and organic way. Jackson carries himself with the quiet pride of a man who understands he's spent his life doing what he was meant to do. As if on cue, young aspiring jockey Gabriel Boulliet (Moises Arias) shows up and informs that Jackson is his father - the result of a long ago fling with Gabriel's mother. Initially taken aback, Jackson and Gabriel form a strained bond through working out, training, and riding. In many movies, this story line would shift into eye-rolling melodrama, but that never occurs. Instead, filmmaker Bentley (whose dad was a jockey) maintains an organic feel by allowing a few real-life jockeys (including Scott Stevens and Logan Cormier) to exchange war stories. We hear firsthand accounts of the risks involved, and how these riders often become expendable. Mr. Collins has westerns and horses in his acting bloodline - his grandfather shared the screen with John Wayne in RIO BRAVO (1959). It may not hurt that Collins is married to Clint Eastwood's daughter, yet mostly he comes across as a natural fit around horses and the track. His subtle masculinity is balanced by Ruth's ambition, and Collins shares a nice rapport with Ms. Parker, as well as with Mr. Arias. This is not the type of film where the horse racing takes center stage. In fact, we see no actual racing, and most of the riding scenes are performed in silence, rather than with the usual thundering hooves pounding the track. This is the epitome of a small movie and cinematographer Adolfo Veloso captures the intimacy of the characters. The story takes a backseat to the main characters, and we find ourselves right there in conversation with them. Opening January 28, 2022.

This movie shows no actual of horse racing, i love horse racing movies but this is just a total bore, sorry but a massive 1/10. I was looking forward to wayching this and it spoilt my entire night. Utter rubbish.

This film start with two men talking while watching a bunch of jockey riding horse, and one of the man went away scene! As turnout, this film is about an old jockey "Jackson" need to compete with his son "Gabriel" in his final championship! Entire film full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Such as, overuse of the walking scene, overuse of the searching scene, overuse of the arguing scene, overuse of the calling names scene, overuse of the facial close-up scene, overuse of the training scene, overuse of the horse racing video footage scene, overuse of the dancing scene, overuse of the drinking scene, overuse of the smoking scene, and overuse of the driving scene! Make the film unwatchable! At the end, Jackson won his final championship! That's it! Wasting time to watch!

Jockey This movie was just terrible from start to finish, it is just difficult to know where to start. To be frank it was a movie that didn't need to be made at all. Filmmaker tell stories and there just didn't seem to be any story of note worth telling here! Firstly a movie needs to educate, entertain or inform, this movie failed on all three counts. Secondly all drama is a compression of reality over conflict, this lacked any compression, it seemed practically in real time and as for conflict there was none. We had scene after scene that rattled off lists of injuries that the different jockeys had sustained, how is this a script. Unsurprisingly jockeys get injured, an unremarkable observation that could be made of any physical endeavour from sport to lumberjack. Shock horror jockeys have a working life and retire, we all do that. The dialogue was mundane in the extreme, nothing was discussed except injuries, horses, the next race and trainers. This sad bunch of peoples down time was merely spend drinking themselves to oblivion. This didn't seem a life worth living so why did they bother at all, why not make different life choices. The "potential" story of a son that wasn't, was so badly handled it was like a film school project that scored a D minus. The acting was pedestrian, the dialogue banal with unvarying cinematography and the whole thing bagged and sagged, lugubriously lurching from one clunky scene to the next. It had a similar tone to Nomadland, another movie that needn't have been made. Lastly if we wanted reality or authenticity then this should be served in a documentary format, this movie was neither fish nor foul and stunk to high heaven. This is a weak 1 outta 10, meaning a colossal bore no one should watch.

It has been said that the writer-director, whose father was a jockey, wrote the script with Clifton Collins Jr. In mind. During the movie we never learn the age of his character Jackson but Collins was about 50 during filming so I'm going with that age. A winning jockey at 50 or older is rare, in fact the great Bill Shoemaker was 54 when he won the 1986 Kentucky Derby and that, I believe, is the record. At least for big races. This is a movie with little action but deep in character study. Almost all of it takes place at the Turf Paradise racetrack in Phoenix. Most of the "actors" are actual working jockeys and horse people. I believe there are only 4 characters portrayed by professional actors. All this gives the movie an authentic feel, like we are looking at the real life and struggles of a 50-yr-old jockey with a number of medical issues, a jockey who knows his career is winding down. At one point he tells the long-time trainer "I believe a have two more good years in me." This is a good movie, we care about each of the characters, and it gives a good glimpse into the real life of jockeys. My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library.