The Day of The Jackal (1973)

DIRECTOR: Fred Zinnemann

CAST: Edward Fox, Michael Lonsdale, Tony Britton, Derek Jacobi, Cyril Cusack, Ronald Pickup

REVIEW:

Fred Zinnemann’s The Day of The Jackal, adapted from Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel of the same name, is a masterfully executed piece of filmmaking methodically setting all its many pieces in motion like a fine watch. Its dry, almost documentary style and slow burn pace might not be appreciated by modern viewers demanding something flashier and more action-oriented (while this is considered a suspense thriller, it’s not an action movie and those who go in expecting such may be disappointed and bored), but for those to whom this kind of movie appeals, it’s hard to imagine this material being more masterfully executed, or an assassination plot and the investigation opposing it being written with more meticulous logic.

The setting is 1962-1963 France, where many feel President Charles de Gaulle has betrayed the country by granting Algeria its independence after the Algerian War. None feel more strongly about this than the OAS, an underground band of military hardliners who have sworn to assassinate de Gaulle in revenge. But when their own attempts fail, low on funds and riddled with informants, the OAS turns to an outsider: a nameless British professional assassin known only as The Jackal (Edward Fox). After methodical preparations, The Jackal gets underway, while the French authorities struggle to unearth what the OAS is up to. Eventually, The Jackal becomes the target of an international manhunt led by the dogged Detective Claude Lebel (Michael Lonsdale), but The Jackal is elusive and devious, Lebel and company don’t have much to work with, and as hard as the authorities work, their wily quarry always seems to be two steps ahead of them, and as the day of the assassination draws near, it’s up in the air whether anyone will be able to stop The Jackal.

The Day of The Jackal is a masterclass of plotting, a movie so meticulously laid out—although the lion’s share of due credit must go to Frederick Forsyth’s novel which it closely adheres to—that it’s virtually impossible to pick out any plot holes or logical missteps of any significance (it’s also worth noting that it generates enough sense of docudrama verisimilitude to generate suspense about whether an assassination attempt succeeds against Charles de Gaulle, a historical figure who most viewers will know was not assassinated). Little by little, it sets up a cat-and-mouse game pitting the lone assassin against an army of harried detectives and intelligence officials in both France and Britain, and then plays it out in slow burn, meticulously logical, almost documentary fashion. While very much faithful to its novel origins, the screenplay has been streamlined and some elements abridged or condensed (as masterfully well-plotted and well thought-out as Forsyth’s dense novel was, it does tend to get bogged down in laborious minutiae). For example, the novel’s subplot detailing the convoluted plot to kidnap the OAS head honcho’s bodyguard for interrogation has been efficiently whittled down to the bare essentials onscreen. The movie’s no frills, docudrama style avoids various tropes and cliches. The Jackal is not a flashy or flamboyant villain—he is, by design, low-key, unassuming, and inconspicuous—and likewise his primary opponent Claude Lebel is far from a handsome action hero type (he’s a mild-mannered and unexciting, even fairly dorky-looking, middle-aged detective). While he’s the closest thing we have to a co-lead, Lebel doesn’t come into play until well into the movie—meanwhile we follow The Jackal on his methodical way almost from beginning to end, tempting viewers to root for the “villain”, or at least admire his intelligence—and even when things ultimately come down (more or less) to a cat-and-mouse game between Lebel and The Jackal, they only directly interact fleetingly, with no manufactured pumped-up rivalry that a more conventional movie would feel the need to inject. There’s also no whitewashing or glorification; The Jackal is ruthless, but so are the French Intelligence agents pursuing him, who kidnap and torture suspects for information. The Jackal’s plan, when finally revealed in its entirety—we gets hints and bits and pieces along the way, but the movie doesn’t spell it out for us—is impressive in its low-key simplicity, and the details of the investigation to catch him are equally fascinating and convincing. This is a slow burn thriller in which conventional “action” is scarce, although it does open with a bang with a docudrama-style reenactment of a real OAS assassination attempt on de Gaulle, but some of the movie’s finest moments come later on, after The Jackal’s false identity is blown and his license plate and description are in the hands of every cop in France. He carries on with his mission anyway, and always convincingly; while some men get panicky and sloppy the closer they come to being boxed in, The Jackal just gets more clever and resourceful. In keeping with the docudrama style, Zinnemann’s direction is spare and non-flashy, but captures plenty of picturesque footage of 1970s Europe; with the amount of globe-trotting it does through Britain, Italy, and France, the movie at times almost feels part travelogue (the movie was filmed, at great cost, mostly on location all over Europe, and it shows, adding to the impeccable sense of technical verisimilitude).

This is not an actors’ movie, with the focus on the procedural details and the nuts and bolts of The Jackal’s scheme and the investigation pursuing him rather than on any deep character development. Zinnemann insisted on casting relative unknowns (at the time) rather than movie stars, including lead Edward Fox, whose nameless Jackal is low-key and unassuming but meticulous and ingenious, impeccably groomed, and casually ruthless. It’s hard not to admire on some level a “villain” who’s this clever, and following The Jackal from beginning to end through his meticulous preparations and narrow escapes, it’s tempting to become invested in almost rooting for him on some level, even though he’s a cold-blooded killer (a fact he demonstrates on multiple occasions). Outwardly prototypical “English gentleman” Edward Fox at first glance might not be everyone’s idea of a deadly assassin, but there’s something impressive about the way he pulls it off and convinces us to buy him in the role, all without ever seeming to try too hard. This turned out to be a breakout role for Fox, who went on to enjoy a long acting career in British and international films. As his primary pursuer, Michael Lonsdale is likewise low-key and far from an action hero, but his Lebel is dogged and hard-working, and we’re (fortunately) able to root for him to somehow save the day as he runs himself ragged trying to finally get a step ahead of The Jackal (or at least catch up with him). This is not a star-studded movie, but there’s a few familiar character actor types scattered around in the supporting cast, some of whom from before they were familiar, including a very young Derek Jacobi as Lebel’s trusty right hand man, Timothy West as the police commissioner, Tony Britton as a harried British police inspector, prolific British-French actor Vernon Dobtcheff in a one scene bit as an interrogator, and a bit part for a young Edward Hardwicke. Cyril Cusack and Ronald Pickup, like good character actors, make distinctive characters out of two-scene walk-on roles as two of The Jackal’s black market contacts, a meticulous gunsmith who takes professional pride in his work, and a shifty forger who asks too many questions and gets too greedy. Ironically, given the Algerian War backdrop, Jean Martin who has a wordless small role here as the OAS leader’s bodyguard previously played the antagonistic French Colonel in 1966’s The Battle of Algiers. The target Charles de Gaulle only appears fleetingly, played by lookalike Adrien Cayla-Legrand.

Flaws are minor, and objectively are not so much “flaws” as matters of personal taste. The lack of any substantive character development will reduce the film’s interest to some viewers, and its dry, slow pace and dense in-depth focus on procedural investigative details may, depending on one’s tastes, be either fascinating or interminably boring. The way things wrap up is arguably slightly contrived and “lucky”, and the film ends a bit abruptly, though it’s somehow fitting with its no-nonsense tone that it doesn’t loiter after the game is over. This isn’t the kind of movie that will appeal to everyone or will be everyone’s cup of tea. To those to whom it does appeal, however, it’s hard to ask for any film more well thought-out or masterfully crafted.

* * * 1/2