Based closely on Frederick Forsyth's first and best novel, the film documents a fictional assassination attempt on French President Charles De Gaulle in 1963. The conspiracy who wants De Gaulle dead consists of a group of right-wingers who want to take power through a coup, only possible if the popular president dies. Unfortunately for them, De Gaulle is heavily guarded, more so than the U.S. President (remember what happened to Kennedy that year). Since all the political extremists are already known to the efficient and ruthless French police force, only a foreign "ringer" can do the job. This is the Jackal: a mercenary assassin who meticulously plans the murder of De Gaulle so that it is possible for him to escape scot-free. When, in a slip-up by the conspirators, the French police manage to learn the barest minimum about the assassination plot, the chase is on. While the Jackal (Edward Fox) goes through careful preparations to procure a weapon and documents, trying to slip into France undetected, French Inspector Lebel (Michel Lonsdale) marshals the entire French police force to do the impossible, stopping the assassination from taking place.
Most of the movie consists of these two parallel stories. Watching the Jackal, we learn how to get a false passport made, and how to procure other identification papers. When the Jackal has a custom gun made for him, he is very specific about certain features it must have. We learn why he is so specific as the plot unfolds. There is no omniscient narrator to tell us anything about the details of the Jackal's plot: we collect the information and process it ourselves. In this way, the movie respects the intelligence of the viewer.
The scenes with Inspector Lebel are just as enthralling. He is not a young or attractive man, but a fiercely intelligent one. He overcomes the stupidity and cronyism that seems to permeate the French bureacracy, coming within a hair-breadth of capturing the Jackal, allegedly the greatest professional killer in the world, several times.
Best of all, the film is steeped in irony. From the beginning, we know that Charles De Gaulle was not assassinated, so the Jackal must fail at some point. I don't wish to give anything away, but the manner in which De Gaulle cheats death reminds me of those famous lines by Robert Burns: "The best-laid plans of mice and men, gang aft agley." Both the Jackal and Lebel fail. What ultimately happens is a matter of pure chance. Another point of irony: an unbelievable amount of effort goes into the attempts to save De Gaulle's life. Are those attempts worth it? The France shown to us is almost a police state in its lack of personal liberties. Perhaps things would have been better if the Jackal could have completed his assignment unhindered.
Fred Zinneman, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year, was one of our most prolific and capable directors. His hallmarks included strong feelings of suspense (High Noon), and faithful adaptation of original material (Oklahoma!, A Man for All Seasons). The Day of the Jackal shows both of these directorial touches. Besides making no great deviations from Forsyth's excellent novel, it is also one of the most exciting and suspenseful films that Alfred Hitchcock never made.
Based on plot summaries I've read, the 1997 Jackal remake seems to be a misguided venture. For those who like the idea of the parallel stories, but who wish to see a more recent adaptation of the subject, In the Line of Fire is very good indeed. But The Day of the Jackal is possibly the best of all.
Four stars
Copyright 1997 by Dale G. Abersold
