"Enigma remains highly watchable and Jeremy Northam delivers a scene-stealing performance as a suavely sinister spy boss."

[Reviewed with a feature on movies to be shown at the Edinburgh International Festival.]

Odeon, UGC

PART Hitchcock, part John Buchan, Enigma is a jolly decent wartime adventure yarn. Intelligent, handsomely mounted and well acted, it’s the kind of able mainstream entertainment that has been all too rare in British cinema this year.

Adapted from the Robert Harris bestseller, it features some compelling work from Dougray Scott as part of the hush-hush brains trust striving to break the enigma code. Haunted by a failed love affair, he returns to Bletchley after a lengthy leave of absence to discover his femme fatale paramour has disappeared.

Director Michael Apted sustains a potent air of mystery as the distraught Scott and game gal Kate Winslet join forces to investigate the disappearance and unravel its wider implications. Although overly keen to tie up every loose end, lumbered with too much exposition and rushed at the climax, Enigma remains highly watchable and Jeremy Northam delivers a scene-stealing performance as a suavely sinister spy boss.

Odeon, Clerk Street (0870 505 0007),

Saturday, 6pm; UGC (0870 902 0417),

August 19, 1pm

Source: Scotland on Sunday