The enigma who broke the Enigma

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2015)

The enigma of course being Alan Turing. Did Alan Turing break the German Enigma code all by himself? Of course not. The movie does suggest without Turing it would never have been done. True or false? One of those questions rather difficult to answer, so let's just say Turing was a math genius (or maths genius) whose seminal work in artificial intelligence drastically changed the world and the course of World War II. And in the movie he comes across as the kind of guy who is completely wrapped up in his ideas on computing and breaking the Enigma code and concomitant with this is uncomfortable around other people and having to deal with them. From what I know of him, this is an accurate portrayal.
The movie perfectly captures the state of Britain in the early years of the war (4 August 1939 through early 1942). Once France was knocked out of the war by the triumphant German Army (June 1940) and the Soviet Union still allied to Nazi Germany, Britain was completely isolated and facing a Europe either under direct Nazi control or allied with Germany.
The Blitz, the strategic bombing campaign conducted by the Germans on Britain, ran from September 1940 through May 1941. The German Luftwaffe routinely bombed major cities in Britain, and because of Hitler's mania (the British dared to bomb Berlin the night of 25 August 1940), Hitler had the Luftwaffe specifically target London. The devastation was enormous. Add to this the unrelenting submarine warfare Germany was conducting on British shipping, and also US ships carrying aid (the US was not officially in WW II until 7 December 1941), Britain was suffering severely from the war. In truth it was losing it. And one of the chief means the Germans used for communications was the Enigma code. The British had to decipher it―or face losing the war.
Enter Bletchley Park and Alan Turing. Bletchley Park was the top-secret location where the British were desperately trying to break the Enigma code, and Turing greatly helped to facilitate this achievement. Turing was clearly a man who lived in his own world of ideas, ideas so out of the ordinary (at that time) that very few people could grasp them. And he often did a poor job of communicating effectively those then strange and bizarre, but brilliant, ideas to other people. All these things come across quite clearly in the movie.
I've read several criticisms that claim the movie leaves much out. For example, Turing traveled to the US doing the time period that the movie covers. So what? To cover all these details would have made the movie inordinately long. Suitable for a book. Not for a movie.
Is the movie entertaining? Most certainly yes. You feel you're right there in the midst of the action at all times. The acting is splendid. As I said, the movie captures the dangerous predicament that Britain was in at the time. Regarding casting, Turing wasn't a bad looking man, but he was no Benedict Cumberbatch. And Ms. Joan Clarke? Not exactly a Keira Knightley. Again, so what? They did a great job in acting in their portrayal of Turing and Clarke. The supporting cast is good too. And Cumberbatch's and Knightley's presence undoubtedly help sell the movie to the general public, many of whom probably never heard of Turing and might never have were it not for this movie.
Regarding Turing's homosexuality, today we wonder what the fuss was all about. Although the movie doesn't downplay it, it doesn't make it the primary focus either. It was though what ultimately led him to take his own life. Turing's fate is a true shame. One wonders what he might have dreamed up if he had lived his full span of years.
Highly recommended. 10/10