Enigma DVD > Reviews > Enigma - well not completely

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Its British, Its a spy film and Saffron is cute
Disadvantages:	The camera gives it all away

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I had heard of this film a long time ago, before they had even started filming for it. Apparently Kate Winslet and her then husband were going to use their film studio to retell the story of the Enigma machine (which broke the codes of German U-boats) thereby putting history straight and telling the film U571 to bog off.

This is quite an elaborate way of doing it though it has to be said. I guess the complexities of the script owe much to Tom Stoppard who is good at weaving difficult fictional stories around historical fact (Shakespeare in love was great for Shakespeare bringing inspiration for his plays from his own life happenings). I loved what they did with this WWII story though, combining Romance and Spy novels into one - great stuff, haven't seen a good spy film in yonks.

Dougray Scott is a codebreaker for the Government, he enters the scene very haggard looking so you can tell he's had a rough ride. Throughout the film we are treated to flashbacks of his relationship (or lack of one) with Saffron Burrows, a wonderful looking administrative assistant at the base who just happens to have slept with half of Bletchley Park (the site). At the beginning of the flashbacks Scott looks quite happy and chipper as he starts the relationship with her (or as she starts it with him), when she goes all bizarre this leads him to a mental breakdown and this is where the film starts (save you the hassle of the flashbacks - but nice to watch Saffron though).

Suddenly Saffron disappears and the Government Agents come out of the woodwork (mainly in the form of Jeremy Northam) to find out what happened to her (Scott being the no.1 suspect of course). Scott finds some codes hidden in her bedroom and this is where the fun starts, Kate Winslet playing a frumpy file clerk joins Scott in the search for Saffron uncovering some interesting things en route. I won't tell you any more but the film is sufficiently well written to keep you thinking about where it might all lead to.

The characters are quite believable and well acted, although I do get fed up with the type of character that Winslet plays, like an English Velma from Scooby Doo, but she does pull off frumpiness to a tee. Scott is very good as a moody forlorn lover who even runs like a mathematician in the chase scenes. Saffron is good as the enigmatic (hmm does the title really refer to the machine ??) and playful harlot, talking as we expect all WWII women did. Northam is very good as the detective, he hams it up all the way even when he is having his nose rubbed in it at the end. A couple of funny things character wise though - We will put two good looking men in the codebreaking room who have largish parts in the film, the others can just be nerdy types to make the room look intelligent. And the baddie!!, you know he's bad miles before you know he's bad, the camera zooms in on his menacing face at key intervals- it couldn't be more obvious if you gave him fangs and a black cape.

Anyway the film is good, a solid piece of English filmmaking, hopefully it will make lots of money (will the Americans want the true version??). I did manage to guess some of the plot lines as the camera did have an annoying if not useful habit of focussing in on some inane piece of furniture or object only to have it amazingly reappear as a key part of the enquiry a few minutes later. You just have to keep an eye out for these odd zoom-ins because they have nothing to do with the current storyline. However this makes it feel like an interactive murder mystery party game - challenge your friends to see who can guess what happens next !! You'd pay Mattel for it so why not the Cinema too.