"Winslet is saddled with the frumpiest wardrobe of her career but still manages to squeeze out her playful sexiness from behind Morocco-mole glasses. "

You could be mistaken for thinking the Yanks single-handedly won the second World War after recent American films such as U-571 and Pearl Harbor, so it’s a pleasure to see an engaging British thriller which has it’s basis in fact but doesn’t purport to be anything other than a cracking piece of fiction. It’s 1943 and Britain’s top codebreakers, based at top secret Bletchley Park, have only a few days to crack the Nazi’s suddenly changed communication code before U-boats destroy a massive allied shipping convoy. Brilliant code breaker Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) is called back to Bletchley after a month of nervous exhaustion where he learns the alluring girl who accepted and later rejected his love, Claire (Saffron Burrows), has disappeared from Bletchley, coinciding with rumours of a spy on the grounds. Determined to get to the bottom of both puzzles, Jericho is aided by Claire’s best friend, unglamorous but clever Hester (Kate Winslet), the exact opposite of Claire. Against the clock and hampered by Secret Service man Wigram (Jeremy Northam), the determined pair discover betrayals great and small in their search for the truth.

This is both an insightful look into the workings of the WW2 codebreakers and an involving romantic thriller when there was everything to play for. There’s a dignified honour about Dougray Scott as he staggers from love-sick fool to perceptive sleuth, and his romance with Kate Winslet is sweetly handled. Winslet is saddled with the frumpiest wardrobe of her career but still manages to squeeze out her playful sexiness from behind Morocco-mole glasses. You’d be hard pushed to find a smugger bastard this year than the one Jeremy Northam plays. The air of superiority around him makes his eventual comeuppance all the sweeter.

Director Michael Apted is happy to concentrate on getting the period details right and focusing on his great cast, resisting the urge to throw in any flashy camera shots (I’m thinking Pearl Harbors’ bomb tracking ‘money’ shot as a recent example) or unneccesary special effects. Moments of sharp wit and romance punctuate the serious nature of the tale, not surprising considering Oscar-winning Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love) wrote the screenplay. The pacing of the film is spot-on with events building to an ending that is genuinely exciting and uplifting. I say old chap, it’s rather a jolly good ‘Boys Own’ adventure, isn’t it! Should teach those yankees a thing or two.

Source: Dark Horizons