Enigma [DVD]

Enigma is a fantastic film from acclaimed director Michael Apted. Featuring Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet and Jeremy Northam, it is based on Robert Harris' book of the same name. The story is set in England during World War II and focuses on the efforts of British cryptanalysts who worked tirelessly throughout the war to break German codes and ciphers. The Germans believed that the messages encrypted on their Enigma machines were indecipherable. Tom Jericho (Scott) is one of the cryptanalysts working at Bletchley Park, the code-breaking centre of England. He is recovering from a nervous breakdown following a relationship break-up and due to the stress of his job. Having broken the Enigma codes before he returns to Bletchley to help break a new and more sophisticated German U-Boat code, only to discover that his ex-lover Claire (Saffron Burrows) has disappeared. Enlisting the help of her room-mate Hester (Winslet), Jericho sets out to find her. Meanwhile, Bletchley Park is under the surveillance of Agent Wigram (Northam), searching for a double-agent at Bletchley, determined to incriminate the missing Claire and the love-sick Jericho. Throw in a dramatic stand-off between German U-Boats, American cargo ships and the harried Bletchley cryptanalysts, as well as a car chase and a love triangle, and Engima provides an exciting 119 minutes of viewing pleasure!

Kate Winslet gives a strong and assured performance, allowing Hester to add some 'Girl Power' to the largely 'Boys-Own' adventure. Dougray Scott looks suitably gaunt and worn-out as Jericho, Saffron Burrows is perfectly cast as the beautiful and enigmatic Claire and Jeremy Northam is wonderfully suave, sophisticated and cold as the ruthless government agent.

The DVD contains special features such as interviews with the cast and a 'Making-of' featurette. Shots of raw, behind-the-scenes footage give you a chance to see how several of the shots in the movie were filmed, as well as an extended observation of Mick Jagger (co-Producer) as a night club extra! The behind-the-scenes footage is fantastic. I especially enjoyed hearing the actors discuss their characters and the history of Bletchley Park and its inhabitants. One problem with the Special Features on this disc is that the raw footage seems out of context. It just shows one scene being shot, then another, then another ad-infinitum. It would've been nice to have had Apted or the cinematographer give us some kind of commentary to give an insight into the filming process. Likewise, the film itself has no commentary track. Having heard Northam's insights into his performance on The Winslow Boy DVD commentary, this is a pity.

Watching Enigma, I felt like I had been magically transported back into England of the 1940s, living the life of a Bletchley Park cryptanalyst. I didn't want to leave the world Michael Apted and his cast and crew had created, which is surely the sign of a great film.

Intrigue abounds as our dour hero chases love and mystery during WW2. Apted has directed everything from Bond to Gorky Park and here he presides over a fully rendered wartime britain in this cerebral thriller. The period details, the strong cameo performances and the essential nod towards the Polish cypher bureau, among others, lift this picture beyond the rather tame screenplay. The interwoven tale has almost too many stories, the history of Bletchley Park, the capture of the Enigma, the Katyn massacre and others are all interesting in their own right and they're all in here somewhere. It's the little touches that get me, I love the idea of bletchley being staffed by academics, one of them doesn't salute an officer and when reprimanded simply remarks that he "can't remember to do every little thing". Matthew Macfadyen has a short but powerful cameo in which he recounts how the recovery of Enigma material from a sinking Uboat resulted in the deaths of two men, his delivery is painfully plain and quietly moving. Central to the plot is the hunt for a traitor at Bletchley which leads our hero into conflict with Wigram of the security service, here played by a serpentine Jeremy Noram. I understand that the source material is excellent but I just couldn't get into it after seeing the film. I don't feel too bad about that as the movie has lots to offer.

ENIGMA is an uncommonly intelligent suspense thriller that should please anyone interested in Britain's WWII code breaking efforts at Bletchley Park.

Dougray Scott plays Tom Jericho, a mathematician returning to duty after recovering from a mental breakdown suffered in an earlier stint at The Park while breaking the German military's Enigma code and, probably more to the point, falling for, and being dumped by, the local Tramp. Saffron Burrows is eye-popping as Claire, the blond and willowy femme fatale of the script. Anyway, the Nazis have since changed Enigma, and Tom is asked to help solve the cipher riddle once again before the U-boats decimate the Atlantic convoys. In one of the parallel plots, it's suspected that the Germans planted a spy at Bletchley Park. From evidence found under a floor board, Tom rightly or wrongly suspects Claire may be involved, but she's mysteriously disappeared. And who's buried in the mass grave the German Army is busy uncovering in Eastern Europe, and why has someone high up in the British command structure ordered that all radio intercepts from that enemy unit be ignored?

Scott is quite good in the role of the edgy, scruffy, emotionally tormented Jericho, as is Kate Winslet as Claire's frumpy roommate, Hester, recruited for the code-breaking unit because she won a crossword puzzle contest. I was particularly impressed with Jeremy Northam's Wigram, the intelligence investigator on hand to uncover the postulated enemy agent. In his dapper, glib persona, Wigram is vaguely reminiscent of Cary Grant, though the latter was never quite so oily. I never decided if I liked Wigram or not, but he was endlessly fascinating to watch operate.

It's historical fact that the war effort against Hitler was greatly facilitated by the Brit's ability to decode German military encryptions. ENIGMA is a richly photographed and costumed period piece - an intriguing glimpse inside the congregation of geniuses, misfits and eccentrics gathered together by the War Office to win the war in their own unique way.