Chacal

You watch the Bruce Willis version of the Jackal and you think that is so cool, but you don't know cool until you see Edward Fox do it.

Fox is the epitome of cool. The guy even wears an ascot, for god's sake! Most people today don't even know what an ascot is. He carefully plots his moves and is methodical in his precision. He kills with cool detachment. If he had Willis' assignment, he would have gotten it done.

But, he had to deal with the European versions of the CIA/FBI and they were not restrained in how they handled investigations. With just a thread, the French police inspector carefully puts together a case with as much precision as his prey. It was a game of cat and mouse that kept you on the edge of your seat for two and a half hours without noticing the time.

That is because of director Fred Zinnemann and the fact that he kept things moving along beautifully.

If you want to see how a thriller is done with craft and cunning and without special effects, then this is the film for you.

There's always something fascinating about a film that takes a well-known historical event and twists a fictional story around it. Not only does it effectively add a true sense of realism, thus increasing the suspense and visceral intensity of the plot, but there's also that inkling of a feeling that perhaps the story isn't fictional, after all. It goes against all our logic, but the sentiment still sits at the back of our minds; as far as we know, maybe there was an assassination attempt on Charles de Gaulle on August 25, 1963 that was promptly covered up by authorities. Of course, Fred Zinnemann's 'The Day of the Jackal (1973),' based upon the acclaimed 1971 thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth, never purports to be telling a true story, but it remains a exciting consideration. The film follows a cunning, ruthless assassin – codenamed the Jackal – as he plots to sniper the French President, as well as the frantic attempts of authorities to capture the anonymous man before he can carry out his plans.

Unlike most thrillers concerned with capturing a killer before he can strike, 'The Day of the Jackal' spends most of its time with the assassin himself, where we watch him intelligently and artfully drawing his meticulous plans and putting them into execution. The Jackal (Edward Fox) is a man of few words; a silent and scrupulous professional who never allows emotion to affect his work. We come to recognise his sly brilliance in everything he does, and yet the film never celebrates his cleverness, and admiration is not an emotion with which we are willing to respond to him. On the opposite side of the moral scale is Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel (Michael Lonsdale), a shy and softly-spoken detective who reveals himself to be a surprisingly cunning and resourceful investigator. The means by which he and his colleagues break-down the Jackal's impenetrable scheme is genuinely captivating and intriguing.

Given the story's historical grounding, it is inevitable that the assassination attempt be unsuccessful, though Zinnemann manages to infuse the story with a continuing air of suspense, which slowly escalates as the fateful day – Liberation Day in Paris – approaches. 'The Day of the Jackal' joins the ranks of such films as 'All the President's Men (1976)' and 'Zodiac (2007),' which somehow manage to maintain the tension despite their conclusions never being in any doubt {though, admittedly, those two had the added burden of a completely factual story}. Despite the phenomenal success of Forsyth's novel, the film adaptation was a box office failure, which Zinnemann later blamed upon having an unknown in the title role. Nevertheless, 'The Day of the Jackal' is now considered a classic thriller, which also spawned an average 1997 remake, 'The Jackal,' starring Bruce Willis and Richard Gere.

Much like the novel from which it was based on, The Day of the Jackal is a detailed, compelling and cold thriller. Frederick Forsyth has never been an author who imbues his characters with much humanity or depth; he is much more adept with presenting technical and political aspects in fine detail. This served him very well in the case of The Day of the Jackal, a novel that not only was detailed in these ways, but also was primarily about a cold calculated professional killer, whose lack of depth or real identity was actually a positive for the story. In other words this story was perfectly suited to Forsyth's style.

For those who don't know, the film is set in 1963 and is about a French right-wing political group who want president Chares de Gaulle assassinated because of his decision to grant Algeria independence. They hire a professional killer with no ties to them to carry out the difficult task.

Edward Fox plays the titular character with the requisite cold efficiency required. He is very much an anti-hero, as while he does murder some innocent people he is also the only figure in the film to really get behind. The French authorities are shown to not be slow to use brutal methods on their enemies themselves, while the two policemen assigned to the case are so lacking in charisma that it's just very hard to get behind them in their pursuit of the villain. If there is a fault with the film it must surely be that we as viewers are drawn to the Jackal and his against-all-odds mission - I think most people want him to succeed – and I'm not entirely sure this is what the film-makers actually intended.

The period detail and French locations are lovely, so cinematically this is a very attractive looking film. It's well-paced and direct with no wastage. We never get into the Jackal character's head ourselves as viewers, there is a definite distance and we don't always immediately know why he does certain things. This only adds to the compelling voyeurism of watching him on his deadly mission. Despite the genre, there is a definite restraint shown in the depictions of violence. It's often implied or shown just off-screen. The focus of the film is very much on the way in which the assassin navigates through his mission via different methods of subterfuge. The film could not be further away in style from the laughable 90's remake The Jackal, a film that seems to do everything in an opposite way.

The Day of the Jackal is overall an excellent political thriller that combines intelligence with a gripping narrative. It shows how this kind of material should be presented on screen, where less can absolutely be more. The way that it always stays within the realm of the plausible is one of its strongest suits too. All this combined with its enigmatic central villain make it a superlative film.

The structure and pacing of this movie are exceptional and make the movie worth watching every few years. The coldness of the assassin, the unremitting persistence of the detective and the suspense of what will happen next all combine to make this a classic.

From start to finish, this is one stylish espionage thriller that qualifies among the best of its genre. Handsomely photographed in some colorful European locations and impressively acted by the entire cast, it showcases EDWARD FOX as "The Jackal" in a performance of smooth villainy that is convincing all the way.

The film's final thirty minutes are worth waiting for--as is The Jackal's final disguise that convinces the French authorities to let him pass. Fred Zinnemann keeps it all moving at a steady pace and there's never any letdown in suspense since the film has the power to draw you in from the start.

Based on Frederick Forsyth's best-seller about the painful preparations an assassin makes in an attempt to take the life of Charles DeGaulle, it belongs in the same class with a film like THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, almost documentary in approach.

The British cast is excellent with Michael Lonsdale doing an outstanding job as the relentless detective. Highly recommended.