The Day of the Jackal
Rohan Naahar
The Indian Express
Even Eddie Redmayne can’t elevate this empty adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s assassin thriller
Starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch, the new mini-series adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's thriller is too bloated to recommend.
Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne is at his slipperiest in The Day of the Jackal, the new mini-series based on the classic beach read by Frederick Forsyth. The book was previously adapted into a lithe (and largely faithful) movie back in 1973, but has been updated for a modern audience by series creator Ronan Bennett. The bones of the story — a cat-and-mouse chase between an assassin on a mission and a secret agent tasked with stopping him — remain the same, but Bennett’s attempts to flesh the narrative out are mostly unsuccessful.