The Day of the Jackal

The Day of the Jackal has quietly become one of the more dependable crime dramas currently available in Australia on Foxtel Now, and in the UK on Sky Go and Now TV Cinema. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. Its 8/10 TMDB score, built from 686 ratings, reflects a title that consistently delivers. Edward Fox anchors it, but the writing does the real work. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Foxtel Now.

There is a reason The Day of the Jackal keeps coming up in conversation. The plotting in The Day of the Jackal is tight enough that the twists feel earned rather than assembled. An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle, with a dedicated gendarme on the assassin’s trail. Edward Fox and Terence Alexander lead a cast that never lets the mystery feel thin. It hit screens in 1973. The plot mechanics of The Day of the Jackal never overwhelm the human cost underneath them. The hit rate here is high enough that skipping ahead never feels like an option.

If you cannot walk away from a good mystery, The Day of the Jackal will keep you hooked. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Edward Fox's performance is the kind that shows up on best-of lists years later. If you have been looking for something to fill the gap left by a recently finished story, this is a reliable answer.