Enigma Directed by Michael Apted. Starring: Dougray Scott, Kate Winslett, Jeremy Northam, Saffron Burrows. Now we all know that the Yanks just love re-writing history so that they are always the heroic saviours of the world, who have never committed a single evil act, but when U-571 was released last year the world complained that they’d crossed one line too many. By completely fictionalising an event which changed world history they had gone too far this time. So whilst very few films are made out of necessity, Enigma clearly had to be filmed. History needed to be told the way it is on film, after all. And whilst the truth may not have had quite so many explosions, it’s equally as powerful, if not more so. Enigma begins towards the end of World War 2, with mathematician Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott, looking extremely tired throughout) returning, after a minor breakdown, to Bletchley Park, home of the allies code breaking unit, after the Germans changed the

code it took him so long to originally crack. Someone is clearly a traitor, but no one knows who, and suspicion lands on everyone, including Claire, the girl Jericho fell in love with and the cause of his breakdown, who has since gone missing. Kate Winslett is fine, in a slightly plump and dull way, as Claire’s housemate Hester, who reluctantly helps Jericho piece together various parts of the mystery, and then inevitably becomes the female love interest. But Saffron Burrow is far more enchanting as the morally dubious Claire, and my only complaint is that we didn’t see more of her. Jermey Northam plays a slightly slimey investigator, trying to discover who the traitor is, all the while hiding his own secrets, and the large supporting cast are all more than adequate. Whilst it may be a tad cerebral at first, and takes a little while to get going, the performances are so strong, the tragedies so great, and the story so interesting, that I can’t imagine anyone failing to be intrigued by the end. And whilst some criticis have moaned about the maths in the film being complicated, which it undoubtedly is, it’s such a minor part of the film that it seems strange to highlight such a minor issue. So it might not be the most thrilling piece of drama ever committed to celluloid, but it is far more important than most. And the fact that it’s an emotionally involving and utterly enjoyable piece of drama is just a further testament to the fact that sometimes the US get’s it terribly, terribly wrong. Alex Finch.

GC(uk) Index     Site Map     Links     Message Board     About Us     Link To Us     Adverts    Add a Link      Chat Room     GC(uk) Email/Newsletter    Advanced Site Search

Let Spyonit.com notify you when this page changes!

Search this site! Just type in what you want to find and click the search button.