The Day of the Jackal 2024

In New York City, high school teacher Todd Tolocci prepares to attend the wedding of Kirby Kowalczyk, the creator of a popular energy drink. A chauffeur arrives to drive him there. As the man enters the house, tragedy unfolds: he kills Todd and removes his glass eye, then uses a machine to liquefy the body and dons facial prosthetics to resemble him. At the wedding, the guests are unaware of the masquerade until the imposter moves with unsettling confidence, and the scene grows tense as he navigates the crowd.

The masquerading killer, the assassin who calls himself the Jackal, arrives amid the celebration and immediately notices observers like Luca Clark and other federal agents surveilling the scene. He quietly consoles his nerves and reaches out to his handler, who insists that he must find a patsy to take the fall for the murder, a plan that promises to double the payout. The tension between law enforcement and the wedding party heats up as the night unfolds, and the killer’s calculated moves become clearer with each passing moment. Inside the venue, Alex, the oyster caterer, moves through the rooms with a professional’s calm, while the imposter uses charm to keep his true identity hidden and to maintain control over the situation.

The night takes a brutal turn when the imposter—now fully mimicking Todd Tolocci—strangles Kirby, sedates him, and transports him to the boathouse, where he finishes the job with Kirby’s own eye-adjacent weapon, an oyster knife. The shocking violence is witnessed by Alex, who arrives at the boathouse only to be knocked unconscious as the killer completes his gruesome act. The set piece ends with the body dumped into a boat, and Kirby’s wife, Victoria Noble-Perdue, discovering the scene shortly afterward. Alex awakens to the grim realization of what has happened, clutching the knife she hadn’t expected would be used against her.

A few days earlier, Alex recruits Charlie to join her at the wedding for help. Unbeknownst to them, Luca Clark is surveilling from the shadows with the aid of agents Darville and Milligan. Charlie runs into Luca and, noticing a clue connected to Beatrix Hasp, begins to connect the dots about the family and the livestream that Hasp arranged to witness her son Kirby’s wedding—a livestream Kirby has refused to participate in. Luca reveals that Beatrix Hasp’s deal extends beyond the wedding, offering a glimpse into a much larger plan. Charlie then tracks Kirby to the port and persuades him that his mother orchestrated so much just to see him, a revelation that deepens the mystery.

As the plot deepens, a suspicious break occurs when Charlie notices a man carrying another man toward the boathouse, a sign that danger may be closer than expected. The body of Kirby is ultimately discovered, and Charlie sees Alex publicly maintain her innocence, setting off a manhunt led by the FBI and a separate line of inquiry tied to Hasp’s mob connections. The two women—Alex and Charlie—escape the immediate danger by slipping away in mascot costumes, making their way to the port. Luca’s colleagues tighten the screws, and he is disciplined for his delays, while Charlie continues to seek a way to help Alex. She works to learn where Beatrix Hasp lives by tracing an Instagram clue to Greenville, Indiana, a move that brings the action out of New York and into a new landscape.

Back at the wedding venue, Milligan briefed Luca and Darville about the true danger: the assassin known as the Iguana, the deadliest in the world. Luca realizes that the Iguana isn’t merely after Kirby; the killer is following Charlie and Alex, using them to locate Beatrix Hasp and uncover her operations. The story pivots toward a broader network of danger as the search for Beatrix Hasp intensifies, leading to a quiet house in Greenville where Hasp is seen preparing food and taking pictures, a moment that hints at the larger storm brewing behind the seemingly festive event.

With every twist, the film maintains a grounded, procedural tone while weaving a web of trust, deception, and survival. The tension between loyalty and self-preservation drives the characters toward ever more perilous choices, and the line between ally and enemy becomes increasingly blurred. The interplay between the undercover agents, the mob connections, and the two women struggling to stay one step ahead of their pursuers creates a gripping, high-stakes tapestry that keeps the reader guessing, even as the pieces begin to align toward a confrontation that could redefine everyone’s fate.

• Note: The killer is a central figure and is portrayed by Eddie Redmayne, whose performance as the Jackal anchors the film’s menacing tone.