Excellent Performances and Strong Story

Rating: Null/10 (5 February 2015)

The Imitation Game (2014)
**** (out of 4)
Excellent mixture of drama and thriller takes place during WWII where mathematician Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) is hired by the British government to try and break Hitler's enigma code, which could lead to the war ending. Throughout the drama of trying to break the code, Turing begins a relationship with a co-worker (Keira Knightley) while trying to keep his homosexuality a secret.
THE IMITATION GAME is without question one of the best movies of the year and it works on so many levels. It's rather sad to think that Turing wasn't better known or respected during his short life time and it's even sadder when one realizes why he didn't live very long. I'm not going to spoil any of these true-story events but I think what I respected most about this picture is that it managed to give a strong message without having to preach. More on that in a bit but the film also contains some of the best drama you're going to see and some incredible performances that bring it all together.
Cumberbatch turns in one of the strongest performances of his career in a very challenging role. The Turing character is one you hate at times. Egotistical. Mean-spirited. Caring. A mad genius if you will. There's so much going on with this character and his brain is racing a mile a second yet Cumberbatch manages to keep all of this stuff under control and give a very memorable performance. What was so remarkable about it is that he's playing a genius and he really makes you feel as if you're watching the real guy and seeing these events unfold in front of your eyes. There's a sequence towards the end of the film where we see Turing crumbling and just the look in Cumberbatch's eyes are unforgettable. Knightley turns in another terrific performance proving why she's one of the best actresses out there. Matthew Goode, Matthew Beard, Rory Kinnear and Tom Goodman-Hill are all wonderful as well.
Director Morten Tyldum does a wonderful job at taking the various aspects of the story and making them all work. The screenplay jumps around from the events in WWII to Turing's childhood and then his later years. The subplot dealing with a detective trying to break Turing is extremely well-balanced with the rest of the film. Usually when films jump around like this you can lose certain bits of tension but that never happens here. Even more impressive is the wonderful music score, the excellent cinematography and some wonderful costumes. On a technical level the film is quite flawless and even the CGI isn't bad looking even though it's rarely used.
Getting back to the preaching, it's rather sad to see what happened to Turing and there's certainly a political and social message here. A lot of films really would have beaten the viewer over the head but instead this film just lets it sink in that this brilliant man was cut short for the dumbest of reasons. It's rather sad to think of what could have been with this genius and the film makes you think of that. THE IMITATION GAME is certainly one of the year's strongest films.