What does the past tell us? How does it communicate to us? Does it have its own way to catch up with us, to say something important or just warn us? Or does it give us false expectations, because that’s what we want to hear by the time when we grow older?

Jackson (Clifton Collins Jr.) is an experienced horse jockey who gets ready for another championship when his health slowly starts to decline. As he still has some energy to train, he is getting restricted by the appearance of Gabriel (Moises Arias), who claims to be Jackson’s son. With the help of his long time friend (Molly Parker), Jackson agrees to train the young man, but as he does that, he should work on his patience, on his health, and the last ride that will be a day to remember.

Clifton Collins Jr. Is an actor with a big name, but strangely, never got a film that would outline and emphasize his acting skills. With “Jockey”, he embodied a broken man with a big heart. A man that needed someone like Collins Jr. to give him justification. Gabriel is a young man who insists on Jackson’s parentage, even though Jackson himself does not believe it’s possible. However, despite that dynamic and unvalidated and unproven information Jackson gets from Gabriel, he still embraces the fact that he could potentially be Gabriel’s father and allows himself to be a parent he never got a chance to be.

With the help of director Clint Bentley, “Jockey” has a well-layered story, supported by the powerful performance delivered by Collins Jr. if not the best in his long career. Through him, we better understand Jackson’s obsession with horses, on running, and why ultimately, he would never accept any other outcome. It’s a good story that should have been told, and worthwhile film that will certainly not only entertain you but provide a whole different perspective on life as a jockey, with an angle ythat was not much captured before.