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The Day of the Jackal
This is as solid as political assassination thrillers get. Don't let the "political" dissuade you because it's neither complicated nor boring; in fact, it's simply a cat and mouse game between the titular identity thief, master of disguise and would-be French president killer and British and French law enforcement. It's an exceptionally good-looking movie thanks to cinematography that makes its European locales appear as big, lively and as beautiful as they actually are and in a way that made me wish I was watching the movie in a theater. Also, from the way the camera follows the Jackal's inconspicuous journey to his target to making you feel like a fly on the wall during the police's conferences, DP Jean Tournier's work is appropriately voyeuristic and oddly empowering. Edward Fox's performance as the Jackal is another highlight for how he makes him plain enough to not stand out yet charismatic and charming enough to always succeed at fulfilling his...umm...human needs (however, another quality of his performance is how he makes you question if that's what he's doing or if it's all part of his plan). Again, I was never bored even though the movie is all about the boring stuff, i.e. the details and how the good guys or the Jackals of the world's success comes down to noticing and accounting for them. The movie explores this in obvious ways like an inspector deciphering the Jackal code name, in subtle ways like the minute calibrations he makes to his rifle's sight scope and - most importantly - always entertainingly. In short, I’m an enthusiast of 20th century history, confidence trickery and good old-fashioned genre entertainment and this movie pleased me very much on all those fronts. Oh, it's also bound to please those who enjoy spotting 'that guys" and "that gals." Keep your eyes peeled for Delphine Seyrig, Michael Lonsdale and Derek Jacobi.
This is as solid as political assassination thrillers get. Don't let the "political" dissuade you because it's neither complicated nor boring; in fact, it's simply a cat and mouse game between the titular identity thief, master of disguise and would-be French president killer and British and French law enforcement. It's an exceptionally good-looking movie thanks to cinematography that makes its European locales appear as big, lively and as beautiful as they actually are and in a way that made me wish I was watching the movie in a theater. Also, from the way the camera follows the Jackal's inconspicuous journey to his target to making you feel like a fly on the wall during the police's conferences, DP Jean Tournier's work is appropriately voyeuristic and oddly empowering. Edward Fox's performance as the Jackal is another highlight for how he makes him plain enough to not stand out yet charismatic and charming enough to always succeed at fulfilling his...umm...human needs (however, another quality of his performance is how he makes you question if that's what he's doing or if it's all part of his plan). Again, I was never bored even though the movie is all about the boring stuff, i.e. the details and how the good guys or the Jackals of the world's success comes down to noticing and accounting for them. The movie explores this in obvious ways like an inspector deciphering the Jackal code name, in subtle ways like the minute calibrations he makes to his rifle's sight scope and - most importantly - always entertainingly. In short, I’m an enthusiast of 20th century history, confidence trickery and good old-fashioned genre entertainment and this movie pleased me very much on all those fronts. Oh, it's also bound to please those who enjoy spotting 'that guys" and "that gals." Keep your eyes peeled for Delphine Seyrig, Michael Lonsdale and Derek Jacobi.