Cumberbatch is Perfect as Alan Turing; a Great Film

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2015)

THE IMITATION GAME is the story of Alan Turing, a man who contributed to the Allied victory in World War II and was rewarded with eventual charges of "gross indecency" (for homosexuality). It's an engaging film that details his time served in Bletchley Park during the war where he worked with a team of linguists for the British military in attempting the decipher the German's Enigma code. The details certainly differ from their real life counterparts but, in the film, the Enigma code is a thorn in the side of the Allied forces that was proving unbreakable. Turing arrives at Bletchley Park and signs on to use his considerable intellect and love of puzzles to crack the code, and he's placed on a team that he immediately alienates with his intense focus on building a code-cracking machine. Throughout the film, we're flashing backward and forward in time to his childhood friendship with a young classmate (which develops into a school crush and establishes Turing's budding homosexuality) and his future discovery at the hands of the police for his alternate "indecent" lifestyle that would signal the beginning of the end to Turing's accomplished life. THE IMITATION GAME is at once both a celebration of Turing's (and his team's) unsung accomplishments that aided in bringing about an early end to the war and a reminder of how intolerance is blind and even a war hero such as Turing can fall victim to those hateful and afraid of people who might think differently.
Alan Turing is one of Benedict Cumberbatch's best performances. Between Turing and Sherlock Holmes, it seems Cumberbatch is just incredibly talented at portraying socially awkward geniuses. But Turing is the more challenging role. Sure, personality-wise the two characters can certainly be said to have a lot in common, but the tragedy of Turing's life is just as much the focus of the film and Cumberbatch creates a sympathetic man suffering in silence. Being the time period that it was, Turing was unable to live openly without fear of repercussions and he poured all of his energy into creating his code-breaker (named "Christopher" after his beloved childhood friend). His team is built on an exceptional supporting cast containing Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke (the only woman on the team who quickly becomes Turing's closest friend) and Matthew Goode as Hugh Alexander (an English chess champion and the team's alpha). Turing and Alexander butt heads immediately over the direction the team is taking in cracking the Enigma, and it's Joan who helps Turing earn the team's friendship and, more importantly, trust in the viability of the machine. Rounding out the impressive cast of supporting characters are Charles Dance as Commander Denniston, the man in charge of the project who happens to believe Turing is a problem and his machine a waste of national funds, and Mark Strong as Stewart Menzies, the head of MI-6 who sees the potential in Turing and his plan. Strong (who starred in another really good espionage thriller with CumberbatchTINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY) is always a welcome presence and perfect for the shady position as head of an intelligence agency thatas far as anyone knew at the timedidn't exist.
THE IMITATION GAME is paced like an espionage thriller but spends the bulk of the film on the dynamics of Turing and his team. Turing, in the film, is not an easy man to get along with. He's vastly intelligent but he's unskilled at the nuances of social interactions. He often speaks his mind, regardless of consequences of the feelings of others, and his team isn't keen on him from the start. It doesn't help that early on he goes over Denniston's head (to Churchill, no less) to assume command of the project and immediately fires two less-helpful teammates. Joan is the key to his integration into the crew and helps him earn the respect he needs to coordinate them. But while the main plot in the film is the cracking of Enigma, the secondary story of Turing's later prosecution for his "crime" of homosexuality is always looming over us. Anyone familiar with Turing knew how this was bound to end and the movie gradually leads us there while first showing us the impressive individual he was, making his horrible treatment in the end that much more disgusting. THE IMITATION GAME is a solid World War II tale of spies and the men behind the scenes but it's also a timely reminder, at a point when finding widespread tolerance is still a challenge, that we're all human and something as innocent as sexual orientation is not enough to define (orworsepersecute) a person.