Enigma

Two and a half stars. Almost okay, but too flawed to make the grade.

Interesting story, but clumsily told. There are too many moments of plain stupidity on the part of characters who are supposed to know better. These moments may drive the plot forward, but they do so at the expense of credibility. And when the historical facts of Bletchley Park are so fascinating in their own right, it waters down the film's verisimilitude. I kept wanting to see more of the background, and less of the protagonists. Dougray Scott gives an uneven performance as the troubled genius; Jeremy Northam has his sly, superior charm turned all the way up to 11, which is too high for the tone of the film; but Kate Winslet has her dowdy clerk-heroine tuned just right. Overall: it made me want to go and re-read Cryptonomicon.