"Jockey gives Collins the role of his career, and he leans into it with all he's got."
— Peter Debruge, Variety
"If Oscar voters remembered Clifton Collins Jr.'s work in "Jockey"- or even saw it - he'd be winning best actor this year."
— Chris Hewitt Minneapolis, Star Tribune
"Clifton Collins Jr. and Molly Parker deliver beautifully tempered turns, with fine support from Moises Arias in the role of an up-and-comer with a mournful gaze."
— Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
"Filmmaker Clint Bentley makes a tender, visually poetic feature directorial debut with "Jockey," a closely observed portrait of a man embarking on the downslope of his career."
— Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
"An evocative study of American life on the fringes that unfolds alongside the grand mysticism of stallions. Clifton Collins Jr. delivers a haunting, profoundly poignant performance."
— Tomris Laffly, Harper's Bazaar
"The film also rates high on the pleasure scale for being a debut feature by abundantly gifted filmmakers and a showcase for a performance that fills your heart while frequently threatening to break it."
— Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
"This is more than just a career-best for Collins — it’s a career-redefining performance. His talent for profundity was always there but previously untapped to this extent. Now the hope is that this won’t be a zenith for him, but instead a revitalizing rebirth."
— Carlos Aguila, TheWrap
"For three decades Clifton Collins Jr has been bringing a memorable spark to relatively small parts in everything from Capote to Pacific Rim. Jockey is his turn in the spotlight, giving the veteran character actor a nuanced lead role to inhabit in a slice-of-life racetrack drama."
— Zach Long, Time Out
"This is a drama that prizes journalistic or documentary values, as well as the "epic naturalism" of films by directors like Terrence Malick and Chloe Zhao in which the camera might be as interested in flowing water, a sunset, a flock of birds, or a line of silhouetted horses as in whatever the characters are doing or saying."
— Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
"Clint Bentley’s debut feature film is an elegiac tribute to the lonely, dangerous and tenuous life of a jockey. Filmed in 'magic hour' glow, with almost every scene a beautifully backlit postcard, Jockey makes a fine star vehicle for one of the finest character actors working today, Clifton Collins, Jr."
— Roger Moore, Movie Nation
"Jockey could be seen as a fairly conventional estranged-family drama. As sports movies go, it’s far more radical, showing relatively little interest in the outcome of any particular race. But in either genre, the movie stands apart from — and above — its peers. That’s a testament not only to the performances but also to Bentley’s approach, which begs to be seen on the big screen."
— Peter Debruge, Variety