Efficient and well acted

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2015)

Benedict Cumberbatch is becoming one of the most versatile and interesting actors of our time, as demonstrated by his portrayal of Alan Turing, the great mathematician whose work provided the foundation for what has become the most indispensable device of our lives – the computer. He had an extraordinary mind, without question, and in the end, he paid a heavy price for it.
"The Imitation Game" takes us through three periods of Turing's life: his days at a British boarding school, the apex of his achievements at Bletchley Park in World War II, and his downfall after being prosecuted for being gay, which led to his 1954 suicide at the age of 41.
The film is quite good for what it is, as it covers the facts in an efficient and engaging manner, but it was not nearly long enough; in fact, I would have preferred a television series to more fully explore Turing's character. But in Cumberbatch's capable hands, we get plenty (and, to an extent, Alex Lowther, who plays well the schoolboy Turing). All too often, geniuses are portrayed as normal people with an extraordinary gift, but real geniuses aren't like that. Being so much smarter, they're often isolated socially, and those of lesser gifts are frequently resentful. Cumberbatch's Turing, much like his Sherlock Holmes, seems to be in the grip of Asperger's Syndrome: he's highly focused on his work, and he does not suffer lesser intellects well. He is understandably seen as arrogant and condescending, and there is almost no one at Bletchley Park who would not want to see him dismissed from the team assigned to the toughest problem of the war: breaking the Nazis' Enigma code, once thought to be impossible to crack.
Those expecting to see a Sherlock rehash, incidentally, will be pleased to know that, despite the two characters' similarities, Cumberbatch plays them quite differently. His Sherlock is firmly in control at all times, while quite often his Turing has no idea what's going on. Sherlock, neat and stylish; Turing, unkempt with an unflattering haircut. That's what I like about Cumberbatch. You never know what to expect. No wonder he went from obscurity to the A-list in just four short years.
But I would have liked to see more: there is only one scene which really explains where Turing's manner comes from, and the script never gets much below the surface to find what made Turing tick.
Keira Knightley, thank God, is brought in to lend some welcome femininity to this boys' club; she's the flower in the desert and her liveliness, energy and sass balance Cumberbatch's icy logic and wall of indifference. Her character, Joan Clarke, is the only one who can engage Turing as a human being, and their relationship is touching.
The film also gives us a glimpse into how British intelligence worked at the time. World War II saw spycraft at its height. Perennial villain Mark Strong here portrays the crafty Major General Stewart Menzies, the chief of MI-6, at the time the agency existed off the books. He's a master at manipulation, and he wreaks moral havoc on the Turing team. When Menzies is in the room, you have no idea what he wants or what he'll do. From him, Turing learns a lot about the world he didn't want to know.
Screenwriter Graham Moore uses Turing's arrest on indecency charges as the film's framing device; Turing tells his story to the detective who initially arrested him on suspicion of being a Soviet spy. The scene which sets up Turing's suicide is very, very sad, and I would be surprised at the person who could sit through it without a tear.
I recommend this film as a worthy introduction to a little explored aspect of World War II, and a glimpse into the life of Alan Turing, if not his soul.