Jockey; Grade: B-

Jockey tells a story about an aging jockey named Jackson (Clifton Collins Jr.) whom is determine to compete in horse racing, despite suffering some major medical issues including difficulty with the left side of his body. Jackson has met a young jockey named Gabriel (Moises Arias) whom claims to be Jackson’s son. Jackson then helps out Gabriel bit by bit, as they not only form a minimal bond, but also help Gabriel shape up for a future in horse racing.

I missed out on Jockey at last years Sundance Film Festival, by the time I tried to acquire tickets they sold out. Of course it’s much better to see a film in a theater rather than your laptop, so thankfully I lucked out as Jockey made it’s way to a theatrical release.

I appreciated the fact the film explore Jockey’s, as far as just how dangerous it is to take up on this profession. Of course Jockey’s have to maintain a certain weight in order to ride a horse for the horse’s safety, however truth be told maintaining that low weight is extremely difficult to maintain as Jockey’s don’t necessarily eat full meals. What makes this lifestyle more dangerous is because without maintaining a reasonable fulfilling diet, Jockey’s are more likely to experience very severe injuries as there is not enough weight as it’s all skin and bone, which makes it much easier for those bones to shatter instantly if they take a fall off the horse. I’ve learned a great amount of knowledge from this film learning about Jockey’s, I’ve always felt it wasn’t that difficult of a profession in terms of safety, but now because of Jockey… Now I know there is a great amount of risk involved taking on this kind of profession now.

Cast was solid overall, thought Clifton Collins Jr. delivered a pretty good performance as this aging Jockey. The character itself does however resemble many past films that held an aging person in their career path, as they’re literally on their last run. For Jackson: It’s really a ride or die situation, as horse racing is his one love that keeps him going day by day. Moises Arias also played a pretty good performance as the young Jockey, nice to see Moises still working these days dating back to his Hannah Montana days.

Story wise: Wasn’t amazed by it by any means, as it felt too familiar to many past films. I still appreciate the fact this film does inform the audience about the Jockey’s, however the story as a whole I wish there was something original there as it kept reminding me of much better films I’ve seen before, especially Chloe Zhao’s The Rider.

Overall, Jockey was a fairly decent film. I recommend checking this one out. -Mitch Smietana