A 2 h breathless history lesson

Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2015)

Expectations were high. From the first trailer to the end credits it was obvious that a perfect movie was made. From the opening sequence to the final scene Cumberbatch gave a breathtaking performance and British cinematography yet again showed us how grand it can be. This movie will surely be nominated for more than one Academy Award, and the front man will be Benedict. His performance was as staggering as it has never been. Although, those who have seen Sherlock might notice a pattern in the act but lets face it, both characters are quite alike. His performance was so powerful it leaves the audience breathless. Though more powerful was his transformation from the first sequence where he is so stuck up and intolerable to the final scenes where the audience weeps and hates the system and the laws that have been enforced at the time. His vocal change/range from the powerful Smaug in the Hobbit movies to the high pitched voice of Turing shows that his abilities of transforming himself into a character are as high as Day-Lewis'. With this role he shows that he truly is the best actor at this moment in Hollywood. Keira Knightley gave a high valued performance. The British in her was shown so perfectly, she hid nothing of her personality and positive energy. The idea of contrasting her as a charming and joyful person to Benedict who acted an autistic Sheldon-Cooper-like persona was a really good idea. It is nice to see her in roles that move away form her usual roles. Still, Mark Strong was a nice surprise. His small but effective role lingered on in my brain even after the movie ended was a great surprise. His George-Smiley-like persona gave a whole new dimension to the movie and his power that dripped form the screen gave the third part of the movie a layer of spy thriller movies. The one that was shoved out the movie far before it was needed was Dance. His classic British style and posture was as brilliant as the above mentioned. Still, he was a bit underused in the movie, but the switch between him and Strong are wisely done and it shifts the movies pace and composure. The direction reminded of the one in "Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy." The movie runs in three different time tables, Turing's childhood, the Enigma breaking, the aftermath. A less skillful director would have screwed up, but the change from one time to the other was a bit difficult in the beginning but it was more than smoothly done after about 20 min into the movie. The runtime was perfectly timed, everything was said that needed to be said and a powerful message was sent. This movie is the first of many to be in the Academy Award winners. I fear that other movies could outrun this one just because of how they were shot or made or because of the subjects they deal with, but I still have a little faith in the Academy to make a good choice. I find nothing more important that a historic lesson about how the war was won, and how the same country that he saved condemned the ones who won it. Fingers crossed.