Crikeys, you look like Carlos!

1997 saw the release of The Assignment, a tense thriller involving the infamous terrorist, Carlos “The Jackal”, directed by Christian Duguay, and starring three talented actors: Aidan Quinn, Donald Sutherland, and Ben Kingsley. Unfortunately, another film was released in the same year involving the concept of master terrorist Carlos, involving big names Richard Gere and Bruce Willis. With Richie and Bruce gracing the screens in The Jackal, The Assignment was quickly relegated to video store and cable oblivion. It’s a shame really, because of the two movies, I feel that The Assignment was easily the superior. However, it just lacked the mega-actors to draw the masses to see it.

Background info to enhance your viewing of The Assignment

Before Osama bin Laden rose to the position of being the world’s most notorious terrorist, there was Carlos ‘The Jackal’. Born in Venezuela, Carlos (real name Ilich Ramirez Sanchez) was heavily linked to numerous acts of terrorism, including the slaying of the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. Before the September the 11th tragedies, the Munich Games incident was commonly thought of as the most horrific act of organized terror in modern history. For decades, Carlos eluded the authorities and continued to plague the civilized world.

The story depicted in The Assignment is proposed as a series of events that may possibly have occurred. This little piece of possible realism adds a dash of spice to the film.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall…The story

Annibel Ramirez (Aidan Quinn), a US Naval Officer, is on shore leave in the Middle East after being at sea with the Seventh Fleet that’s stationed in the area. While doing the touristy thing he finds himself being followed and then chased by some unknown heavies. Eventually Ramirez is captured and finds himself in the hands of Mossad (Israel’s intelligence service) and being vehemently accused by Amos (Ben Kingsley) of being none other than Carlos “The Jackal”.

Ramirez eventually convinces his captors that he’s not the most wanted terrorist in the world, but an American citizen who’s just a junior naval officer. However, it appears that this everyday American bears an uncanny resemblance to the bane of the free world, Carlos “The Jackal”.

Together with CIA agent, Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland), Amos coerces, threatens, bullies, and extorts Ramirez to get involved with a plan they have cooking to flush the elusive Carlos out. Jack and Amos can use a man that, with some colored contact lenses and other minor changes, looks almost identical to the mastermind terrorist.

However, looking like Carlos is one thing, thinking and behaving like the most successful terrorist doing the rounds is another. Jack and Amos drag a reluctant Ramirez into seclusion to get him on the same wavelength as Carlos. As you’d expect, Ramirez is trained up on the usual terrorist bag of tricks – weapons, counter-surveillance etc. However, Jack and Amos take Ramirez’s preparation to the extreme. For days and days on end he’s fed nothing but gristly looking porridge. Why? Because Carlos grew up on it, and hates porridge with a passion. Ramirez must learn to hate it too. Additionally, Jack and Amos organize a training session with an old girlfriend of The Jackal’s, so that Ramirez can ‘ride’ just like the infamous terrorist, who’s reported to be quite the cat’s meow between the sheets.

Abruptly, the training comes to an end and a transformed but terrified Ramirez is sent out into Carlos’s dangerous world. Thus the thrills and spills begin in The Assignment.

Acting! Real acting!

CIA agents and terrorists in films usually equate to cardboard cutout acting of stereotypes. Not so in The Assignment.

Aidan Quinn is required to not only portray Annibel Ramirez, the reluctant naval officer dragged into the world of the CIA and Mossad, but also the character of Carlos himself. At the beginning of the film, the two characters are chalk and cheese. Ramirez is the family man with all the honor code of a military officer, and Carlos is the ruthless terrorist devoid of all morals in the pursuit of his cause. However, as The Assignment progresses, Quinn shows some amazing talent at blending the two characters. Ramirez, as a result of his new training and his new environment, starts to become increasingly like the Jackal.

Old hands Ben Kingsley and Donald Sutherland also put their considerable acting skills to good use. Kingsley in particular adds a lot to The Assignment. He adds a human dimension. For example, his use of the dialogue provided emphasizes the importance of catching the likes of Carlos. This is crucial to the film’s success. Otherwise it would stoop to become just another good-guys-chase-bad-guy-flick, like its competition “The Jackal”.

Style and pace

It’s obvious that director Christian Duguay has opted to make The Assignment a thinking and feeling person’s thriller. While there are many tense and exciting action scenes, they’re not of the blockbuster variety that sees the hero thrown through the air to safety by the explosion that he’s just caused.

Duguay also puts a lot of care into the quieter moments of the film. For instance, he understands that we best understand the villainy of Carlos by watching the transformation occurring in Ramirez. This transformation is mostly on display in the film’s quiet moments, like when Ramirez makes love to his wife like Carlos would instead of himself.

Joe’s final words

The concept of someone looking passably like Carlos “The Jackal” takes a dash of imagination, but not as much as you would think. After all, a man like Carlos wouldn’t allow himself to be recognized by many people. So, with a bit of understanding, the idea contained within The Assignment works.

I’ve viewed this film twice. It’s a quality little film. It’s not a five out of five stars, but it’s close. Four stars for The Assignment.

Cheers for reading!

~Joe

P.S – The real Carlos was kidnapped from Sudan in 1994 by French intelligence officers, and has been rotting away in a French prison ever since. However, court battles continue in an effort to free him due to the illegalities of his capture.