Main Cast: Aidan Quinn, Aidan Quinn, Donald Sutherland, Ben Kingsley, Claudia Ferri, Celine Bonnier, Liliana Komorowska
Release Year: 1997
Country: US
Run Time: 119 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
In this drama, a naval officer named Annibal Ramirez (Aidan Quinn) is vacationing in Israel when he's arrested and questioned by Israeli agents, led by Amos (Ben Kingsley). Unknown to Annibal, he bears a striking resemblance to Carlos Sanchez (also played by Aidan Quinn), a famous and feared international terrorist wanted in several nations. Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland) is a CIA operative who witnessed one of Sanchez's most brutal attacks in the 1970s and is obsessed with bringing him to justice. Shaw persuades Ramirez to join his team and to pose as Sanchez, convincing the nations who work with him that he's an unreliable traitor. While this would give Ramirez a chance to serve his country, it would also take him away from his wife Maura (Claudia Ferri) and his children, not to mention putting his life in grave danger. Carlos Sanchez was the name of an infamous terrorist (also known as "The Jackal") who was active in the 1970s and 1980s; while the "Carlos Sanchez" character is based on his fearsome exploits, the rest of the story is fiction. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
This sturdy political thriller benefits enormously from a trio of terrific performances and a taut script by Dan Gordon. The film only strains patience by drawing close parallels to a factual international terrorist; the story would have worked a whole lot better had it been fictionalized. One of the film's finest elements is an air of authenticity, which it would have retained without the spurious and distracting contention that it's inspired by actual events and historical figures. That one annoyance aside, it's a gripping examination of paranoia, obsession, and the psychological toll of doing what's right. Quinn, a truly underrated actor, gives one of his best performances in a dual role, one of which must become increasingly like the other, while Ben Kingsley lends able support in his quiet, studiously violent part. Donald Sutherland is a little more lively than normal in his patented "manipulative authority figure" guise, playing it this time as less of a menace, more of a deviant. It's the nimble plausibility of its script that makes The Assignment (1997) such a treat, however. Unlike the majority of cartoonish, numbly unimaginative thrillers, this one's patient, smart, and believable, using character development in place of car chases, gun battles, and explosions, setting it easily a notch or two above its cliché-ridden brethren. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Vlasta Vrana - KGB Head Officer; Von Flores; Al Waxman; Mitchell David Rothpan; Gregory Hlady; Gabriel Marian Oseciuc; Frederic Desager; Kliment Denchev; Yonathan Gordon; Ndiouga Sarr; Manuel Aranguiz; Leni Parker
Credit
James Fox - Art Director, Mary Margiotta - Casting, Karen Margiotta - Casting, Lucie Robitaille - Casting, Stefan Wodoslawsky - Co-producer, Ada Levin - Costume Designer, David McLeod - First Assistant Director, Christian Duguay - Director, Yves Langlois - Editor, David Saunders - Executive Producer, Joseph Newton Cohen - Executive Producer, Normand Corbeil - Composer (Music Score), Michael Joy - Production Designer, David Franco - Cinematographer, Franco Battista - Producer, Tom Berry - Producer, Thierry Morlaas-Lurbe - Sound/Sound Designer, Dan Gordon - Screenwriter, Sabi H. Shabtai - Screenwriter
