Latest war puzzle doesn't really fit

Enigma -- R
Starring: Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet
Directed by: Michael Apted
Showing: Showplace East 11 As the title indicates, this film was definitely baffling. The story was interesting, but pushed too far for a movie based on reality. The acting was superb, but the inaccuracies were abundant. Even a few days after seeing "Enigma," I'm not quite sure how much I'm willing to forgive. Mathematician Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) is called into Bletchley Park, England to help break an important code used by the Nazis. Success in breaking the code may mean the difference between victory and defeat for the Allies. Though he only has four days to break the code, it's not enough to keep Jericho from searching for Claire (Saffron Burrows), the woman who broke his heart and has been mysteriously missing since the Nazis last changed the code. Jericho teams up with Claire's roommate Hester, convincingly portrayed by Kate Winslet, in pursuit of anything that will lead them to the code or Claire, who might have some secrets of her own. The whole time Jericho is being watched by the suspicious secret service agent, Wigram (Jeremy Northam), who seems to enjoy torturing Jericho in his search for Claire. Director Michael Apted makes it rather obvious that there is really more than one enigma -- Claire's disappearance, Jericho's involvement and a mole amongst the codebreakers. But the most confusing question to me is why did the writers feel the need to make the love story so integral? It's hard to believe a man would risk his country's chance at winning a war to find the woman he loved when he already knew how to go about breaking the code. This movie would have been much more interesting if Jericho spent more time trying to break the code and cover the tracks of his disastrous love life than trying to pursue the woman who might lead to his demise. Northam and Scott's characters would've made more sense, and the movie could've concentrated on the main point. "Enigma" is full of twists, albeit rather unlikely ones. Most of the elements of a great movie are here, but the story strays too much from reality at times. Every element of a movie about World War II doesn't have to be completely historical, but this one is more believable, as well as more entertaining when it sticks to the facts.