Enigma

Enigma is set during the Second World War at Bletchley Park, the headquarters of British intelligence. Tom Jericho is called back from sick leave to help crack a complicated German code, so that the British can locate the German U-boats threatening a large convoy of merchant ships in the Atlantic. Enigma is the name of the advanced German cipher machine.

Tom learns that Claire Romilly, the girl who drove him out of his mind, has vanished without trace for a couple of days. In Claire's room he finds some undeciphered German codes hidden away, but he does not trust the smooth intelligence man Wigram enough to tell him of the discovery. Instead he lets Claire's roommate Hester in on the secret investigation. Unlike the beautiful and vivacious Claire, Hester is a cautious office mouse. Behind the somewhat timid exterior, however, there is a sharp mind.

With great effort Tom and Hester find out what the coded messages are about: a terrible atrocity which someone is evidently going to great lengths to cover up - but who are they, and what is Claire's role in the affair? Since Enigma is a British production, it is no surprise that the film does not end with the usual patriotic back-slapping.

As a thriller, Enigma could well have been more nerve-racking. At first glance the source material, Robert Harris' novel, seems rather more exciting. The somewhat uneven plot is partly offset by the nuanced characters, especially Dougray Scott's slightly awkward nerd Tom Jericho.