Jockey (2021)
- Reviewed from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
Jockey is pretty standard as far as films like this go but it’s buoyed by a sensational (and long overdue) lead performance from Clifton Collins Jr., a consistently excellent performer for years. Collins plays the ailing Jackson, a career jockey who discovers he may have a son in aspiring rider Gabriel (Moises Arias).
Although Clint Bentley’s feature debut treads familiar ground, it’s an unexpectedly heartfelt portrait, grounded by Collins – who is well supported here by Arias and Molly Parker as Jackson’s longtime trainer.
Of particular note is Adolpho Veloso’s striking, hazy cinematography full of sunset silhouettes. But the true gem remains Collins, who wordlessly culminates his performance in the film’s stirring final minutes by merely walking off the track, achieving something like magic.