DID THE JACKAL KILL HIM?
IT DOESNT SHOW IT, JUST JACKAL ASKING THE MAN FOR A BULLET.
WHATTYA THINK?
I THINK HE DID AS A WAY OF COVERING HIS TRACKS.
HE HAS ALREADY KILLED ONE MAN - THE PASSPORT FORGER.
WHATS ONE MORE??
He killed the forger because the guy was a greedy fool trying to blackmail him.
The gunsmith, on the contrary, respected the Jackal all the time and did an excellent job that the Jackal admired much. The assassin was ruthless, but he also knew how to appreciate a man's professional honesty.
In the novel,the Jackal collects his rifle, pays his bill and the two men part in
friendly terms never to meet again.
To me, that whole scene was between two professionals who respected each other and had done business together before. Notice how the scene begins.
Gozzi (the gunsmith) opens the door and is met by a "Good afternoon" from a cordial Jackal. Gozzi pauses, as if trying to recall where he met this young Englishman. Finally, he remembers, cracks a half-smile and says: "Ah, yes. Please come in."
Their business conversation is that of two gun experts. When Jackal says that the rifle needs to have a short barrel, Gozzi laments, "That's a pity," because both men know full well that a long barrel guarantees good exit velocity and stability for the bullet, hence better accuracy.
Gozzi's next three questions ("Will the gentleman be moving?"; "Will you go for a head shot or a chest shot?" and "What are the chances of a second shot?") suggest that the two have had a similar consultation in the past, perhaps in the cases of "that man in the Congo" or "Trujillo."
Every time I watch "Jackal" I admire actor Cyril Cusak anew. He's so self-effacingly suave in it. I first saw him in a small part as an Irish taxi driver in "The Man Who Never Was" (1956) and later as the firehouse Captain in "Fahrenheit 451" (1966). I found him impressive in both parts.
Cyril Cusack was fantastic! He's damn' good in a very small part as an imprisoned IRA bomb maker in "Juggernaut" in a tasty little scene opposite Anthony Hopkins, if memory serves. In his younger days he was more fiery - have a look at "Odd Man Out" for one of his early stand-out performances. Brilliant actor! :D
shareIf you look in "trivia" for this film you will see that they filmed the scene of him shooting the gunsmith with the last bullet he asked for but the scene was cut in order to move more smoothly to the forest practicing. It's interesting. I always thought the scene showed mutual respect between the two men and the jackal had not harmed him and I shall continue to think so. Films should stand by what is up on the screen, not what was in the book or left lying on the cutting room floor.
shareI actually saw the film The Jackal (90s film with Bruce Willis) a few years ago, before I saw this one. In that one, he does kill the gunsmith--a sort of geeky Canadian 20-something (played by Jack Black). So I thought, when he asked for the bullet, that it might go the same way for this guy. Although I agree, there seemed to be a lot more professional respect between these two, than there was with their 90s counterparts. Also the Jack Black character did try to blackmail him for more money too, so that aspect of the forger (in the original) was grafted onto his character, and thus that was the reason the Willis Jackal killed him (in the woods where they were practicing with the equipment). As far as we see, the gunsmith in Italy didn't give the Jackal any similar reason to kill him. But since the Jackal was planning to retire after this job (due to the heat that would be on him), who knows? No more reason to need this gunsmith as a resource for future jobs, and probably in his mind anyone was capable of being a loose end.
The Day of the Jackal was the better of the two, although Bruce Willis did play the Jackal with a lot more frightening coldness, I thought.
Understanding is a three-edged sword.
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