Political instability inspires the development of quintessential genres, and there’s no better evidence than the rise of espionage and conspiracy-related content in the 1970s. In the aftermath of a series of shocking assassinations and a skepticism about the reputability of government statements, many American films attempted to spotlight the shadowy forces that were responsible for the protection of the status quo. Whether it was fact-based historical tales like All the President’s Men, allusions to recent events in The Parallax View, or dynamic action thrillers with a political bent like Three Days of the Condor, the “New Hollywood” era successfully merged radical anti-authoritarian themes with populist entertainment.
Few films from this era were as notable as The Day of the Jackal, a 1973 political thriller inspired by the novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth. Unlike other recent hits like Marathon Man or The Boys in Brazil that portrayed its antagonists as mustache-twirling villains hell-bent on the initiation of global chaos, The Day of the Jackal depicted the mind of an unemotional, unstoppable creature of habit. Initially portrayed by Edward Fox, the enigmatic assassin known as “the Jackal” was never particularly sadistic; he was merely an instrument of more powerful institutions, who assigned him to take out high-value targets without ever leaving a trail.
Fox’s nearly silent performance was terrifying because of its subtlety. The Jackal viewed his task as a job, not an art form, and rarely made any suggestions about his own political beliefs. The concept that an ambivalent citizen could be a clandestine instrument of the power elite was a horrifying notion, one made all the more haunting thanks to Fox’s chilling gaze. A 1997 remake that starred Bruce Willis in the title role fell flat, as the Die Hard star added too much humanity to the faceless assassin.
Given that most entertainment corporations have used their streaming arms to mine every work of intellectual property at their disposal, it was only a matter of time before Universal discovered that it still held the rights to The Day of the Jackal. An announcement that Forsyth’s original novel would serve as the basis for a new, 10-part series on Peacock was met with a collective sigh, as audiences may have already had their fill of espionage content thanks to recent hits like Lioness: Special Ops, Black Doves, The Old Man, The Agency, and The Night Agent.
What’s surprising is that Peacock’s The Day of the Jackal isn’t more radical than its predecessor; the challenge it faced was introducing a world in which the “fringe conspiracies” of the original have become mainstream. In 1973, the concept that there were spies hiding within plain sight, or that governments buried proof of black ops programs, was attractive, but not grounded in any evidence. However, a post-9/11, post-Snowden, and post-Patriot Act world struck a different chord, as the themes merely hinted at in the original The Day of the Jackal are now common. Compared to the intense paranoia of the Bourne franchises or the relentless espionage-based action of 24, the takeaways of The Day of the Jackal are tame.
The Day of the Jackal is less interested in the “why?” of the situation than the “how?” If the last few months have proven anything, it's that a frustrated public has little sympathy for titans of industry and government. Given that these are the targets that “the Jackal” often sets his sights on, there’s much more incentive to understand the way in which his mind works.
Filling in Fox’s role is Eddie Redmayne, who earned Hollywood’s good will with his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in the overrated biopic The Theory of Everything. Despite his every intention, Redmayne’s work in unwatchable “Oscar bait” like The Danish Girl and cynical franchise fare like Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them have distinguished him as a try-hard theater kid with an unshakeable lack of charisma. Ironically, it's Redmayne’s failure to establish himself as a leading man that makes him the perfect choice to play the Jackal; he plays a character who understands human behavior, but can never replicate it entirely.
The series begins with the Jackal’s assignment to stage a “false flag” attack on a German far-right politician, but the global machinations at play are simply table setting for what is essentially an extended cat-and-mouse game. Facing off against the Jackal is Lashana Lynch, a veteran of franchise vehicles like Captain Marvel and the James Bond film No Time To Die. Lynch struggled with roles that forced her to be openly emotive, but she’s brilliant here as an obsessive intelligence expert whose only goal is to track down the Jackal. There are no altruistic connotations to her endeavor, as like the Jackal, her intention is to claim victory in a game that the world is largely ignorant of.
The Day of the Jackal has a multitude of astounding set pieces, including a brilliant sequence involving a clandestine firefight staged in the midst of a concert. While it may be a bit too polished to be mistaken for pulp, The Day of the Jackal is able to reframe its politics into the premise of an engaging procedural.