Every rider has a laundry list of injuries: cracked ribs, broken collar bones, shattered hips, busted noses. Riding on a professional circuit comes with no shortage of physical, social, and spiritual wear and tear and Jackson (Clifton Collins Jr.) is already well into his sunset years in Clint Bentley’s spirited but gentle horse drama Jockey.

Reminiscent in no small part of Chloe Zhan’s The Rider (arguably too much so), Jockey is a slice of life Western character study that follows Jackson, a renown athlete aging out of his prime. For Jackson and the many riders who fill up the margins of the film, riding is more than just a gig: it’s also an addiction. Living under the threat of paralysis, CTE, crippling arthritis, or countless other physical afflictions, the jockey’s body can only handle so much. The body withers but the spirit remains.

After a series of falls that’s left him with a busted back, Jackson’s spine is stretched into an S, his hands seized into claws, his wrists tight, weak; and yet he doesn’t want to let go of the reins. Jockeying is control; it’s independence; it’s life itself.

Bentley, working from a script he co-wrote with Greg Kwedar (Transpecos), delivers on extreme authenticity, using technical language and non-actors to really transport audiences to the horse tracks. Though this isn’t a sports drama in any real sense of the term, Jockey uses the high-intensity, high-stakes propulsion of the horse races to explore Jackson’s soul and Colin Clifton Jr. is more than up to the task.

A steady, consistent character actor, Collins Jr. presents a piece of himself that’s he long been saving in what threatens to be a career-best performance. Jackson is a modern version of the distant, unknowable cool of the Marlboro Man, thoughts of what legacy he will leave racing behind sad, wistful eyes.

Horse movies, for lack of a better term, are often about taming wild spirits or finding grace in caring for something other than oneself. A character study through and through, here the focus is on Jackson, a man entering his twilight years, struggling to accept the loss of the only thing he ever defined himself by. Enter Gabriel (Moises Arias – great here), a man who claims to be his long-lost son.

Jockey goes about exploring this dynamic, as well as the relationship he Jackson shares with his boss who maybe wants to be more than friends Ruth (Molly Parker), in an emotionally earnest manner. However some story beats feel stutter-stepped, with at least one instance that left me feeling like I had missed a scene. It’s a shame because Jockey loses steam in its jilted final act, which despite these storytelling shortcomings, is as visually beautiful to behold as the rest of the film.

A visual reflection of Jackson’s career, the sun always appears to be setting. It’s always golden hour and cinematographer Adolpho Veloso makes every shot resemble that picture perfect dude ranch postcard. At one point Jackson remarks “I love this time of day.” A solitary figure throwing his silhouette across the runny yolk of sunset, that’s Jackson.

Bentley’s film wins by virtue of Collins Jr.’s soulful performance, exploring a man coming to terms with his own expiration clock and trying to come to peace with his legacy. For all skilled riders – and men writ large – aging out of relevance, the ticking hand of one’s impermanence remains an ever-looming threat. They just need to outrun the fear. But the body always fades. And the sun always sets.

CONCLUSION: An emotionally-charged and gorgeous-framed film about man’s struggle for serenity in the face of lost purpose, ‘Jockey’ features a career-best turn from Clifton Collins Jr., even if it’s a story that feels like it’s been told before.