Enigma

TIFF [2001]

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(USA/United Kingdom, 2001, 118 minutes)
Directed by Michael Apted
Written by Tom Stoppard
Based on the novel by Robert Harris
Cast: Dougray Scott, Kate Winslett, Saffron Burrows, Jeremy Northram, Tom Hollander

Movie Review

The latest from the versatile Michael Apted is the kind of hokey cloak-and-dagger adventure Hitchcock would've embraced during his streak of American successes in the 1950s, had it not taken nearly 60 years for someone to tell the story of British codebreakers in World War 2. Adapted by Tom Stoppard from Robert Harris's novel, "Enigma"'s brand of opulent romantic melodrama is what is described in literary terms as a "beach read". I intend no air of condescension here -- while I could see every plot "twist" coming, I found the whole thing completely charming and a testament to everything that's wonderful about slick, unapologetically commercial filmmaking.

Michael Apted

A haggard Dougray Scott instantly wins our sympathies as Tom Jericho, a mathematics genius who has resigned from the service following a traumatic breakup with Claire (chesire-grinned Saffron Burrows), who has since disappeared under mysterious and suspicious circumstances. He is called back to Bletchley Park in 1943 to decipher a new series of encrypted German transmissions that could jeopardize a convoy of supply ships en route to England from America. Suspicious of his Claire's intentions, Tom teams up with her bookish roommate Hester (predictably fiesty Kate Winslet), also a Bletchley employee, to find her and hopefully translate the Nazi code in time to prevent the destruction of the fleet. Tailing him the whole time is Wigram, a British Intelligence agent (an oily Jeremy Northram) and condescending dandy who is not only convinced that Claire is a traitor, but that Tom is somehow in on it, too.

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A real Movie With A Capital "M", "Enigma" is the sort of festival entry that gets the purists upset and sniffing indignantly because it cost millions to produce, is easy to understand, and brings stars out to the red carpet. But if this event is truly to be a celebration of the cinema in ALL of its forms, then two-fisted espionage yarns have their place in the Festival, too. Superbly cast, nary a line rings false or a scene inconsequential. Expertly paced by the ever-reliable Michael Apted, and backed by a lovely score that bears the unmistakable sound of John Barry, "Enigma" had me appreciating the simple joys of what makes going to the movies fun, after nearly a week of witnessing other entries that while original and ambitious, at times tried too hard to be anti-Hollywood -- often to their detriment.

Perhaps intended as the British response to Michael Bay's "Pearl Harbor" (or at least to Jonathon Mostow's similarly-themed and entirely fabricated "U-571"), "Enigma" is the best feature film ever associated with the name Lorne Michaels, who, to my amazement, coproduced with Mick Jagger -- yes, THAT Mick Jagger (who appears briefly in a self-conscious cameo as a British officer). Wisely, Michael Apted has left the credits to the end.

Enigma photo gallery

- Robert L

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