A One Mann’s Movies review of “Jockey” (2022).
I saw this as a #Cineworld Unlimited preview, but “Jockey” gets a UK release on February 4th.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Jackson Silva (Clifton Collins Jr.) is a jockey in the twilight of his career, trying to hide a crippling back injury from his trainers to continue riding. When a young wannabe jockey Gabriel Boullait (Moises Arias) turns up claiming to be his son, Jackson takes him under his wing and teaches him some of the skills he has learned over his career.
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: Clifton Collins Jr., Moises Arias, Molly Parker.
Directed by: Clint Bentley.
Written by: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar.
“Jockey” Review:
Positives:
- The movie reminded me constantly of “Nomadland” (which is both a positive and a negative). There are long leisurely shots of the characters talking at dawn and dusk in the Phoenix landscape that are glorious to look at. The cinematography (by Adolpho Veloso) also features some interesting shots and zooms (one inside his mobile home completely turning the image on its head, reflecting where Jackson’s life is going).
- As a ‘sports movie’ you feel that “Jockey” really starts to dig into what the lifestyle is really like. Why do these people risk life and limb for a meagre, drifting existence living (in this case) in a mobile home? In a curious but intriguing scene (it feels more like an AA-meeting at first, but then just appears to be a jockey talking-shop) the participants discuss the different injuries they have sustained. I presume that, apart from Collins Jnr., they are all real-life jockeys and that the dialogue is unscripted. It certainly plays like that. Other sequences seem to feature real-life characters in the same way that “Nomadland” did. In one example, Jackson goes to potentially purchase a yearling from a larger-than-life rancher dude (note: this is never referred to again!)
- Clifton Collins Jr. seems to have had a lot of buzz from the Sundance festival for this performace, and I agree that it was impressive. Moises Arias was also very strong, reminding me of Riz Ahmed’s levels of hawkish intensity.
- As an indie film it’s clearly filmed on a tight budget and during lockdown. There are some interesting choices in terms of the racing scenes. Don’t go expecting the thrills of a “Seabiscuit” or even last year’s “Dream Horse“. The racing sequences are almost horse-free! I imagine Collins Jnr. is probably stuck on a saddle in the back of a landrover with the cameraman throwing bits of mud at him! It reminded me of a “Taskmaster” task: go and make a horseracing movie, but you only have two horses! It’s a quirky approach… but, somehow, it works well.
Negatives:
- Like “Nomadland“, it’s slow…. glacially so. It’s only 96 minutes long (thank God!), but even so I kept glancing at my watch. The illustrious Mrs Movie Man admitted she was toying with nipping out mid-film for a Magnum.
- Unlike “Nomadland“, where Frances McDormand’s performance was just soooo natural that she blended seamlessly into the documentary-like action, here the joins are more evident. Although I thought Collins Jnr, Arias and Parker were all good in their roles, the scripted dialogue all ‘looked like acting’ when placed alongside the more ad-lib scenes.
Summary Thoughts on “Jockey”
I note that I have more positive bullets for this one than negative ones. But it still only gets the 3-stars from me. Sometimes a “good indie film” can just be plain dull, and for me unfortunately this was one such film.
Trailer for “Jockey”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWI6Q-yKFbc .
