48. Jockey; movie review

 

JOCKEY

Cert 15

95 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language

This is a strangely low-key film to be showing in a multiplex.

Jockey is the type of movie I would expect to have a limited run in art houses. We had not even seen a trailer before it appeared in an Unlimited screening at Nottingham Cineworld.

And it appears that this was a one-off because it is not returning to the city when it begins its official run.

It's not that Jockey is a terrible film - Clifton Collins Jr gives an impressive performance as its title character - but it just didn't grab either Mrs W or me.

Collins plays Jackson Silva a veteran jockey of high reputation who is in the embers of a career which has been successful on the track but left him with little to show financially.

He doesn't have a life outside riding horses so attempts to ignore medical advice to give up because of severe injuries caused by many heavy falls over the years.

He also doesn't want to end a professional relationship and friendship with a trainer (Molly Parker) who has a new horse which may well turn into a great star.

Meanwhile, he has a left-field diversion when a young jockey (Moisés Arias) emerges and quietly claims to be the son he never knew he had.

This is a solid foundation for a movie but it never moves out of second gear with the same ground being revisited over and over.

The cinematography of Clint Bentley's has been praised but while I could see the merit in the dawn shots of horses being trained as the sun rises, I was perplexed as to why so much of the movie was filmed in the dark.

There are dusk, dawn and night-time scenes but hardly any in daylight.

Jockey has a soul but its problem is that there have been so many horse-racing films which have elicited more intense emotions.

For Mrs W & me, it was just ok and, sadly, not one we will remember.

Reasons to watch: Engaging performance by Clifton Collins jr.

Reasons to avoid: Not a lot new here

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 5.5/10

Did you know? American Jockeys' salaries are based on the class level of the race they are competing in, how many races they compete in, and what place they take in the race. A jockey earns anywhere from just $28 to $184,000 or more per race.

The final word. Clifton Collins jr: " You just want to be accepted by the people you are representing, and that would be the jockeys. Everything I did was to gain their respect, love, and trust." Hidden Remote

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