If only we knew how to crack Germany's wartime communication codes - we could knock years off the war! Well, we did it once (the bloody Brits at Bletchley Park that is!!!) so, despite the Jerries changing their code unexpectedly just when we were sussing them out, let's jolly well see if we can't do it again. What ho! Mathematician, Tom Jericho (Scott) is our Ace card, but then - they're are bloody geniuses up at Bletchley! And this is a true story. And it's a rivetingly fascinating one. God forbid it should be sullied and muddied with an errant sexy-spy sub-plot... DOH!
Michael Apted capably directs two films here. The drama about code-breaking at Bletchley Park replete with it's cast of absurd British eccentrics (within which Scott provides a surprisingly underplayed and likeable genius) is both exciting and of huge historical interest. Sadly, it also has to share screen-time with a second, less satisfactory film: Namely a lame spy-thriller trying to be a 39 Steps (without investing either the necessary story time, character development or taut, intelligent dialogue) in which Jeremy Northam (surely the real successor to Donat and Moore) slides his way through each scene as the bad guy confusing underplaying for doing bugger all!!
Still. There's enough here of interest; and just enough about Bletchley to lift this above average. Winslett is as competent as ever and the photography and production design hit a satisfactory wartime note. However, despite being based on Harris's novel, the denoument of the 'spy at Bletchley' story is facile at worst - uninvolving at best.
Michael Apted capably directs two films here. The drama about code-breaking at Bletchley Park replete with it's cast of absurd British eccentrics (within which Scott provides a surprisingly underplayed and likeable genius) is both exciting and of huge historical interest. Sadly, it also has to share screen-time with a second, less satisfactory film: Namely a lame spy-thriller trying to be a 39 Steps (without investing either the necessary story time, character development or taut, intelligent dialogue) in which Jeremy Northam (surely the real successor to Donat and Moore) slides his way through each scene as the bad guy confusing underplaying for doing bugger all!!
Still. There's enough here of interest; and just enough about Bletchley to lift this above average. Winslett is as competent as ever and the photography and production design hit a satisfactory wartime note. However, despite being based on Harris's novel, the denoument of the 'spy at Bletchley' story is facile at worst - uninvolving at best.