The Day of the Jackal begins with a scintillating intensity that would leave many a viewer overawed. Its depiction of a disguised Eddie Redmayne, enveloped in a brutal yet sophisticated assassination, is chilling but gripping.
As the ten-part series progresses, we learn more about the Jackal—his family, his modus operandi, and even his past. The audience feels privileged yet thrilled to know about this killer for hire and intrigued by the complexity of his world. Unfortunately, the more we come to know of the Jackal, the more the plot entangles. We are left with more questions than answers.
I feel the writers aim to present a growing collapse of his control over his situation, yet the explanation for his increasing lapses in judgment is never fully realised. Equally, I was left wondering—given only scraps of Helmand Province flashbacks—how the Jackal became so willing to kill the innocent. Fertile ground could, and perhaps should, have been found in the explanation for a character so deftly portrayed by Redmayne.
The series attempts to create a cat-and-mouse dynamic between the Jackal and the MI6 officer tasked with his apprehension. To me, the constant flitting felt disjointed and clunky. That said, the series makes an honourable and highly enjoyable reprisal of a famous and fantastic character. All credit must go to Redmayne for grounding the series in an effective performance of an efficient killer.
“Eddie Redmayne by Gage Skidmore” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.