This Film Should Be Required Viewing in Public Schools

Rating: 10/10 (14 February 2015)

While still suffering from PTSD after having sat through "Birdman" the night before, I decided that surely there couldn't be any of the 2015 "Best Picture" nominees that could conceivably be worse than that monstrosity of a film, and so I decided to watch "The Imitation Game", one of the outliers for Best Picture, but also one that may stand a chance considering that its director has also been nominated for an Oscar.
I couldn't have been more pleased with this movie. Granted, some of my contentment may have been due to my viewing of this film being paired with the insufferable "Birdman", but what I found in "The Imitation Game" was a genuinely intriguing story with a well written script and a well produced film, the final product of which was a wonderful movie going experience. While "Birdman" makes one wonder how ingratiating a "Best Picture" nomination should really be these days, "The Imitation Game" reminds us that there are still good movies being made that feature original stories that the world desperately needs to hear.
A cursory summary of the film is that Benedict Cumberbatch plays the role of Alan Turing, a mathematical genius who conceives of the world's first computer during World War II. The movie then tells the story of Turing's struggle to build the machine that would help the allies decipher Nazi radio codes and thereby win the war.
Cumberbatch turns out a strong performance, as does the rest of the cast. Keira Knightly is pleasing to the eye, as always, and her performance is deserving of her Best Supporting Actress nomination. Most importantly, though, is that this film conveys an important moral —namely that societal norms sometimes (especially historically) impose themselves in terrible ways with horrific consequences. Turing's story is one that the world needs to hear now, more than ever, as it struggles with LGBT rights. "The Imitation Game" is cinema at its finest—important narratives taking life on screen in a way that engages the audience while pleasing the viewer. 10/10 stars!