Jellybeansucker Period WW2 geekfest movie shot with admirable British restraint. Well cast and fairly well scripted, if a little complex, but very well acted fictional thriller based on the Nazi code messaging system for its frighteningly deadly unter seaboot corps in its North Atlantic theatre destroying Allied supply ship convoys, principally en route to bulk up the soviet Union's resistance against the might of the of the German Panzer Corps, Wermacht front line infantry, Waffen SS and winter trained mountain corps. If you want to see them all in action then don't watch this film but other action based war movies with them in.This isn't an action war movie, the closest it gets to it is a wound up maths geek biffing his boss on the chin. This is like a pure strategy console game, a long puzzle giving us piece upon piece to solve. It's not fabulously handled by the writer-director partnership in this regard, but the drama certainly is. This is a complex strategic mystery thriller made by straight drama experts rather than complex spy thriller experts but nonetheless I love it, because they get the feel of it spot on and get exceptional performances out of Winslet in particular as a believable female nerd, and Northam as the flamboyant posh police inspector in charge of the high level case.Has a great old fashioned atmosphere helped along with a superbly chosen score of contemporary swing music and Mendlesson, very classy! Highly recommended for a rare geek's look at the non combat roles played in the real war against the dense grain of the overwhelmingly action movie infested WW2 canon.

Prismark10 Enigma is based on the fictional Robert Harris novel which is a part wartime thriller and part love story based on code breakers in Bletchley Park. It mixes fiction with some real characters and events. The book is gives a grim depictions of a war torn Britain which I am afraid endured for several decades after the war.Dougray Scott is a mathematician recovering from a breakdown after a doomed love affair. He returns to Bletchley to find out his ex lover, Claire has gone missing and there is pressure to crack the Enigma code and with intelligence officers crawling about, there might also be a mole in his team.Scott (with a variable accent) teams up with a dowdy Kate Winslet to investigate what happened to Claire and discover something more sinister.The film was adapted by Oscar winner Tom Stoppard. He introduces some new scenes and different climax from the book. He does well in keeping the grimness of domestic life and fashions of the time but its not a successful screenplay. Director Michael Apted struggles to give flair and spark to the film as it remains dour, dull and lifeless. Despite a few extravagant scenes it does look like a glorified television film.Scott and Winslet work well together but the film is too uneven, there are some good shots of the code breaking machines whirring around and some humorous scenes of the women working in Bletchley with the lecherous supervisor. The thriller element despite a good start fails to work and in this adaptation seems flawed.Jeremy Northam's acting is provided by his hat and his supercilious character has a habit of speaking lines that sound out of period.A disappointment especially as I enjoyed reading the novel.

SnoopyStyle Thomas Jericho (Dougray Scott) is brought back to Bletchley Park to decrypt the new version of the Enigma machine specially made for U-boats. He's been away after a mental breakdown. There is a large convoy coming across the Atlantic and the Allies are newly blind. There is a suspected spy as the Nazis seems to be changing their ways. Tom is searching for his missing girlfriend Claire Romilly (Saffron Burrows) along with her flatmate Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet). Meanwhile Wigram (Jeremy Northam) is searching for the mole.Dougray Scott gives a tiresome performance especially at the beginning when his character is world weary. Kate Winslet is playing a mousy character. All the flashbacks are pretty boring. Saffron Burrows is doing supermodel level of acting. Their great love never seem so great. The movie is a bore when this should be a thrilling spy story. In the end, I don't care about Jericho. That would be workable if Jericho actually turns out to be the mole. That would be quite a nice noir touch. Also the act of code breaking is not done that well. Although doing code breaking well has never been easy.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews March, 1943. The Shark code is the way Nazi submarines communicate with each other. British cryptoanalysts have broken it. Unfortunately... it was just changed. Mere days are left before a massive, and sorely needed, shipment of resources for allied forces, go into dangerous waters. It's up to a team of eccentric geniuses to crack the new configuration. Among them is Tom(Scott, determined, brilliant), whose ex Claire(Burrows, seductive while dignified) has recently disappeared. He and her friend Hester(Winslet, smart and tired of being overlooked) must try to find her, and uncover the truth behind both events.I haven't read the novel, but based on this, I might. My exposure to the director and screenwriter has been hit-and-miss. This is a quite compelling spy mystery. While it starts out as a slow burn, the last half increases in tension and suspense until it almost causes physical pain. Granted, the end has a *lot* of big revelations, and there certainly are some exposition dumps along the way. This does play fair; nothing is truly hidden from the viewer, everything falls into place once you know everything, and there are hints dropped - disguised well as things that don't seem like they'll be important.The structure is notable; I understand some dislike it, and it does take getting used to. Right from the start, this starts a habit of, every so often, cutting from our protagonists to a different situation, or showing flashbacks(that's where we see the earlier-mentioned missing girl). if you're put off by it early, be warned that it does keep going. Speaking only for myself, it is a choice that makes sense, and everything does eventually pay off. Acting is great for all concerned. Characterization(no "bad guys" here), dialog(with the inimitable dry wit), filming, all solid.This is tremendously detailed and authentic. Cars, clothes, social norms, etc. Of course the personal story told here is fiction, still, it's weaved almost exclusively from the fabric of history. This is the rare blockbuster that treats our knowledge of the past not as something to manipulate into something mainstream, or, *ugh*, a source for conspiracy theories. No, instead, it treats it as what it is... genuinely engaging, and satisfying to come to understand. It's also entirely credible; with today's thrillers, you find yourself missing the plausible, complex-not-convoluted(and not requiring the planner to be omniscient) plot.There is some strong language(one of the only gratuitous and, as far as the terms used goes, anachronistic, aspects), disturbing and/or violent content, and a little nudity and sexuality in this. I recommend this to any fan of drama, puzzle-solving, and fact-based films. 7/10