The Day of the Jackal: A Medley of Audience Manipulation and Suspense

Fred Zinnemann's The Day of the Jackal is a gripping, first-rate thriller--it ranks among my favorite films--but it nevertheless disturbs me. Every time I watch it, I find myself temporarily pulling for a professional assassin to complete his assignment of killing French president Charles de Gaulle. All great films manipulate the emotions of its viewers; to a large extent, that's what makes them great. However, I find it somewhat alarming when a film can manipulate its viewers so completely into pulling for the villain.

Based on Frederick Forsyth's bestseller, The Day of the Jackal opens with a failed 1962 assassination of de Gaulle by an organization called the OAS. The members of the OAS, many of them former military leaders, felt that President de Gaulle betrayed France when he gave independence to Algeria. After discovering potential intelligence leaks within its membership, the OAS makes a contract with an independent professional assassin who takes the code name of "the Jackal." During an "interview" for the job, one of the OAS leaders insists: "We are not terrorists...we are patriots." The Jackal's unemotional reponse: "So you want to get rid of him?"

The rest of the film follows two parallel plotlines: The Jackal preparing for the assassination and the French authorities learning about the Jackal's mission and trying to stop him. The latter plotline is initially difficult to follow because characters float in and out of the narrative as the assassination attempt comes to light as bits of evidence are pieced together. A central hero finally comes into focus when Lebel (Michael Lonsdale)--the "best detective in France" according to the police commissioner--is appointed to head the investigation.

The Jackal inspects his newly-made rifle.

Meanwhile, the Jackal takes center stage quietly and effectively from the outset. We follow his methodical preparations: he takes the name of a deceased baby from a cemetery headstone; he obtains a passport; he steals keys and has them duplicated; he has French citizen ID documents falsified; he designs his rifle and has it manufactured to his precise specifications, and so on. The bottom line is that we, the viewers, invest time in following the Jackal's meticulous preparations. We grow to admire his business-like approach. Even when he kills an associate, it's tempting to rationalize it. After all, the victim was an unlikable chap who was trying to blackmail the Jackal.

It's only when the Jackal murders an innocent woman--as the climax approaches--that the viewer truly realizes the Jackal is a ruthless killer unworthy of admiration. Subsequent murders reinforce this critical point so that, as the Jackal takes aim at de Gaulle, the audience is rooting appropriately for Lebel and his cohorts to stop the Jackal. Still, it's an interesting experience to realize how much one's emotions have been subtly manipulated up to that point.

Edward Fox, who spent most of his acting career playing military officers and upper-class Englishmen, portrays the Jackal as a well-organized, no-nonsense businessman. Zinnemann chose him over better-known actors, such as Michael Caine, because he wanted to cast an unknown actor in the lead role. It's a smart decision because it makes the Jackal a nondescript mystery man. In fact, except for what we see of the Jackal, nothing is revealed about his character--there's no backstory and not much be gained from his relationships with other people.

Michael Lonsdale as Ledel.

In contrast, Lebel is a three-dimensional character whose personality is carefully etched in a few short scenes. Initially, he feels he may not be up to the task at hand. But, as the manhunt for the Jackal progresses, Lebel  becomes more aggreesive in his pursuit and more confident in his approach. At a meeting with senior French officials, he calmly informs them that he has a taped telephone conversation that implicates one of them in leaking information to the OAS. Michael Lonsdale perfectly captures Lebel's initial uncertainties that disappear into confident determination. It's a fine performance which always reminds me how much Lonsdale was wasted as 007's bland nemesis in Moonraker.

I first saw The Day of the Jackal in 1973 when my sister was working at a movie theatre. I would tag along with her when she went to work and then watch the current attraction multiple times until her shift was over. At the time, I had never heard of The Day of the Jackal nor anyone in the cast. But, by the time the evening was over, I was a fan of this highly-manipulative, but exceeding well-made thriller. I've seen the 1997 remake, The Jackal, which is decent enough...but it can't compare to the enthralling original.