Movie Review: “Jockey”

Time has not been kind to jockey Jackson Silva. He's reached middle-age, has been beaten up physically by his many years in the saddle and has wound up on the sport's bottom rung at Turf Paradise. But he still has dreams, ones that could yet be realized. Trainer Ruth Wilkes, who has stuck by Silva, has come up with a once-in-a-lifetime horse in the filly Dido's Lament and the filly represents Silva's one last chance at glory.

It's not a glamorous story, but the movie “Jockey,” set to debut in New York and Los Angeles Dec. 29, isn't interested in the first Saturday in May, million-dollar yearlings, weekends at Saratoga, or thundering hooves. It's about the side of racing that rarely gets exposed, the blue-collar horses, the trainers who constantly scuffle to get by and the jockeys who battle weight and injury, hoping that at the end of the day they have enough to pay the bills and put food on the table.

“He's somebody who is at the end of a career, and is not really ready to let it go–but it's letting him go, and this is where we meet him in the beginning of the movie,” director Clint Bentley says of Silva. “This is all he's done his whole life, probably since 18 or 19 years old.”

It's a story Bentley was born to tell. His father was a jockey and later became a trainer and he saw firsthand that the racetrack is a complex place and not always a kind place.

The grizzled jockey is well past the point where he can dream of winning a Kentucky Derby. He's just trying to survive. After so many injuries, he's worn out, but there's still a faint spark, ignited by Dido's Lament.

The filly has done much the same for Ruth Wilkes, whose never had a chance to prove what she can do with a good horse. Tired of training horses who will never amount to anything, she saw something in Dido's Lament that everyone else missed. She knows this is the horse that can make her own dreams come true.

Silva's life grows more complicated still when young jockey Gabriel Boullait shows up on his doorstep. Gabriel convinces Silva that he is his son. At first, Silva is reluctant to let the young rider into his life but a bond grows between the two. Silva takes the young rider under his wing and introduces him to Ruth. He sees Gabriel as his successor.

Moises Arias plays Gabriel and Molly Parker plays the part of the trainer, Ruth. But it is Clifton Collins, Jr., in the role of Jackson Silva, who stars the brightest. The veteran character actor, who says his father was an alcoholic and a gambler who frequented Hollywood Park, slides seamlessly into the role of a broken-down jockey. The Daily Beast was so impressed with his performance that it calls him a dark horse to win an Oscar.

It's clear that Collins worked hard to perfect the role of an aging jockey. His preparations included spending time among Turf Paradise's riding colony to learn from the real-world Jackson Silva's. Several, like Turf Paradise veteran Scott Stevens, have small parts in the movie.

“I spent every day with them,” he said. “I would hang out with them and do all the stuff they do. That gave me a level of anonymity, so I could blend in and acclimate to my environment.”

Collins gravitated toward jockey Logan Cormier, who plays Silva's best friend, another down-on-his-luck jockey named Leo. Cormier is an interesting story. He served nine years in a penitentiary and did not ride from 2003 through 2018.

With Jackson aboard, Dido's Lament wins her first race easily and the trainer and jockey are anxiously looking forward to the “Futurity.” But Ruth grows increasingly concerned about Jackson. She knows he is not right. When Jackson, who detects there is a problem, asks her what's wrong, she says, “You're afraid. That's what has changed.”

Ruth is torn between her loyalty to Jackson and her desire to scale new heights with the filly. If this were some other kind of movie, she would have stuck with Jackson and he would have ridden off in glory with a win in the Futurity. That's not Jockey. Ruth dumps Jackson and gives the mount in the Futurity to Gabriel. The filly wins easily. Jackson takes a mount on another horse and finishes up the track.

We don't know what happens to Jackson, but he seems ready to continue on after the Futurity, unable to let go, incapable of making a graceful exit from the sport.

Jockey can be slow-paced at times and never will it put you on the edge of your seat. But it does a superb job of capturing a side of the sport that is rarely revealed. It is a compelling story that the racing fan and professional is sure to enjoy.