The Day of the Jackal (1973) - movie review

The day of the Jackal (1973)

Review rating – 5/5

Directed by Fred Zinnemann

Starring Edward Fox, Michael Lonsdale

Review by Zulfiqar

            In 1974 Oscars, this great movie lost in the best editing category to another wonderful flick, the Sting. But I would definitely at any rate vote for Ralph Kampien on his stupendous work for this Frederick Forsyth’s novel adaptation. Mention should also be made of Kenneth Ross, who did an absolute fine screenplay. The movie has a no-nonsense tone in it with a documentary style visual narration. Critics may look at the main things like story and performances for its strength. And they are absolutely spot on, no qualms about that. But for me, the real raw energy of the movie lies in its small things like the fine inner workings of both the governments, British and French. The diplomatic wings and also the inner ministerial circle of the defence structure have a real working environment to them, which is very hard to miss. Director Fred Zinnemann delights in the way he even shows how a courier carries a message from espionage council to the minister. It shows us that rare window into the lives of people, who work as pieces for result.

            The movie’s another wonderful angle in the technical direction is the absence of background score and is laced with curt and precise dialogue, which works on the structure of the story and narration. And there is another fine marksmanship in the way humor is subtly interwoven in the vast latticework of the plot. The opening sequence has a realistic tone to it with the way, a group of assassins of the OAS, try to assassinate president general Charles de Gaulle for his involvement in the independence of Algeria. Having the attempt being foiled and the devout disciple of OAS given the death penalty, the group hires a professional hitman to do the job. But he isn’t a mere hitman. He is the ‘Jackal’. He is precise in his work and outlines his requirements and the essentials of the plan with conditions of no-further meetings and keeping the inner circle regarding the plan as it is.

            Edward Fox as Jackal delights in the way he works on his assignment. His physicality is the mot juste of the whole character of jackal. He is adaptable, watchful and ever resourceful in the hour of escape. The only thing he requires about his assignment is his brain and it enjoys doing its job. There are many scenes where he makes his escapes and blends in with the crowd to hide himself. At more than three-quarters of the movie, the jackal is at crossroads regarding his plan, either to let himself out or carry on the dangerous path. Even with all the resources cut and his way becoming denser with obstacles, he resorts to hunt. This is because he likes the thrill of the chase and he could carry it on till he wants.

            Michael Lonsdale is Lebel, deputy to the French commissioner. He is called in for the case and is a silent and intuitive, and knows how to recognize a wise decision. In his silence and in the way he is dealt by his authoritative bosses, he depicts in a humorous way and also in an official manner how the bureaucrats deal with their underlings. I particularly liked the way he and his assistant work in their small office under lamps and while puffing cigarettes and downing coffees, the little clues about the unimaginable and invisible jackal.

            The coherent working of the both the intelligentsia of English and Gallic sides adds to the intriguing ‘follow the trail of Jackal’. The concept of jackal is what makes the sides’ scouring for the clues more interesting. The trackers are concerned with the concept called jackal. Much of the guessing comes with a remarkable but worked-out coincidence from these members. But the thing most remarkable about Forsyth’s thinking is about Jackal’s thought process .

            Jackal thinks very randomly. He selects persons of his personality by scouring them at airports and working on their stolen passports. He wanders through the graveyards for the name on the passport and spins his story around it. You need to either live in the mind of the man or have your dice roll to its maximum. Lebel tries the third way, which is his own. To disclose his mind, I would quote the scene where he explains in one sentence as to how he traced the OAS’s informant.

            The selection of de Gaulle’s body double is a success in itself. Fred Zinnemann takes the help of Jean Tournier’s oblique camera angles and using obscure profile takes, while working out on the resemblance of the president. The camera work in the final scene on Liberation Day is more artful and at the same time very crisp. I can’t help feel re-mentioning Edward Fox’s physicality as Jackal. In the last scene, he sieves through the security convincingly as a cripple and ruthlessly dupes a weakling. But I liked the scene where he does his target practice. See how he makes the use of a weirdly assorted firing weapon and fixes it to aim his target. That is your Jackal - resourceful, deadly and bang on target.