This 2012 PBS-aired British miniseries is a period serial-killer tale with a feminist twist. In a prologue set in 1943, four women working at a top-secret site at Bletchley Park crack a German military code that reveals future troop movements—a breakthrough that gives the Allies a tactical edge in their ground campaign. However, most of the action here is set in 1952 London, where a mysterious stalker is murdering young women. Susan (Anna Maxwell Martin), one of the Bletchley quartet, now married with two children, thinks she sees a pattern in the killings, and she persuades her reluctant husband to introduce her to a police official to explain her ideas. When that gets her nowhere, she enlists the aid of her three colleagues from wartime—freewheeling Millie (Rachael Stirling), mousy Lucy (Sophie Rundle), and business-like Jean (Julie Graham)—to help track down the villain. Writer Guy Burt occasionally succumbs to cliché, but overall The Bletchley Circle—directed by Andy De Emmony—benefits from an ingenious plot that makes good use of the postwar background, including references to the official-secrets act that prevents some characters from being entirely forthcoming with information needed to solve the case. Extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette. An engaging original mystery, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)
The Bletchley Circle: Cracking a Killer's Code
PBS, 135 min., not rated, DVD: $24.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 Volume 28, Issue 4
The Bletchley Circle: Cracking a Killer's Code
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