
Set in England during World War II Michael Apted's ENIGMA follows bookish code-breaker Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) through a whirlwind love affair with Claire Romilly (Saffron Burrows) a seductive blonde clerk & his subsequent recovery from a mental breakdown caused by the relationship As Tom begins to pick up the pieces of his sanity he is reinstated by his former employers at Bletchley Park a secret agency that intercepts transmissions from German U-boats & decodes them for use in the Allied cause When a suave government agent (Jeremy Northam) investigates Bletchley in search of a suspected spy & the now-missing Claire Tom takes matters into his own hands & enlists the help of Claire's roommate the seemingly prim Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet) Together Tom & Hester begin to unravel a mystery that goes extends across continents & allegiances Apted's WWII thriller based on the novel by Robert Harris & screenplay by Tom Stoppard is a well-crafted period piece that successfully transports the audience to 1940s Britain Scott & Winslet are compelling in their roles as intellectuals forced into action & Northam exudes a rakish charm during his appearances The film's secret weapon however is the plot which gets more & more intriguing as the story progresses In the end even the most astute viewers will be surprised by ENIGMA's finale