The Imitation Game
THE IMITATION GAME (15)
D: Morten Tyldum
The Weinstein Company/Black Bear (Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky
& Teddy Schwarzman)
US/UK 2014
114 mins
Drama/Biopic/War
W: Graham Moore [based on the book "Alan
Turing: The Enigma" by Andrew Hodges]
DP: Oscar Faura
Ed: William Goldenberg
Mus: Alexandre Desplat
Benedict Cunberbatch (Alan Turing), Keira
Knightley (Joan Clarke), Matthew Goode (Hugh Alexander), Rory Kinnear (Detective Nock), Charles Dance (Cdr. Alastair Denniston), Mark Strong (Maj. Gen. Stewart Menzies)
Based on the true story of Alan Turing, a (possibly
aspergic) mathematician whose machine design broke the enigma code and decyphered German messages during WWII.
This biopic favours a non-linear narrative, juggling
Turing's post-war days as a gay recluse investigated by the police for his lifestyle and his Cambridge schooldays as a bullied child prodigy along with the meat of the story in which he
overcomes being ostracised by his colleagues and military superiors by getting his expensive machine into action and winning the heart of a beautiful belle (played by Keira Knightley) to hide
his homosexuality. Much drama also comes when Turing's machine finally does deliver the goods, only for the team to not be able to take action yet in fear of the German's discovering that
their secret codes had been cracked.
There's a clear Hollywood influence in the film,
presenting it all as truth when it's obvious that some things had been added or omitted for dramatic effect, and there's barely any credit given to the brave soldiers on the battlefield,
instead attributing all the credit to one man for winning the war. The tail end of the film focuses solely on Turing's homosexuality, which should have served as a subplot only.
Despite these tiny gripes, Benedict Cumberbatch delivers
an excellent performance as the 'odd duck', and the supporting cast are also incredibly good (especially Knightley, in her best work since Atonement).
8/10
