A man with a suitcase | “The Day of the Jackal” review

How do you find a man with a briefcase who leaves no trace and is the best of the best in his profession? The search for him must be for just that perfection – and Bianca (Lashana Lynch), a sniper and weapons specialist, knows this very well. She follows the trail of the Jackal (Eddie Redmayne) in a frantic race around the world, but the most important lead seems to be discovered in Northern Ireland. It is from there that she ends up in Belarus and finds a suitcase similar to the one that manages to be captured on surveillance after the assassination of a well-known German politician.

The Day of the Jackal is a fast-paced action series that manages to be interesting, but it is not the plot in it that is most important – it is not very revealing, as it duplicates what we know from the James Bond series and other such productions. It is certainly a variety to present the story from two perspectives: that of the pursuer and that of the pursued. We learn about their private lives, which, it must be said, are no different – both Bianca and Jackal hide their professional lives from their relatives. The difference is that the Jackal does what he does so that he can spend time with his loved ones at the end, while Bianca takes time with her loved ones to do what really turns her on. Excellent work has been done by the filmmakers, who are far too infrequently mentioned, and who truly make the production good on many levels, not just acting.

Therefore, let’s take some time for the music, because I’m convinced that when everyone who watches this series will want to grab their phone immediately and then to shazam every song that appears. The perfectly balanced soundtrack makes the music a background for the story and the plot doesn’t suffer but only gains. Classics are mixed with new artists, making it easy for everyone to find something for themselves on this series playlist.

Aesthetics, not just the musical ones can be seen in every image and the series owes this to Natalie Humphries, responsible for the costumes. This aspect is rarely mentioned in a context other than historical productions, but how the characters are dressed here is truly exceptional. Nuria’s (Úrsula Corberó) white dress or Bianca’s green coat steal scenes with their fleshy material, resulting in a fine image.

And finally, Eddie Redmayne – if you only knew him as an actor, playing “polite” roles, give him a chance to prove himself. Bravo to Sacha Garret, the casting director, who dared to make such a move, because this is exactly the kind of non-obvious casting we need in cinema.

Kinga Majchrzak