Cumberbatch is excellent

Rating: 9/10 (27 December 2014)

THE IMITATION GAME (2014) ***1/2 Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Charles Dance, Rory Kinnear, Allen Leech, Matthew Beard, James Northcote, Tom Goodman-Hill, Tuppence Middleton. Cumberbatch is excellent as Alan Turning the British mathematician who managed to crack the Nazi's Enigma code during WWII in spite of his personal demons (his homosexuality ultimately led to his tragic suicide shortly thereafter). Based on Andrew Hodges' book, Graham Moore's screenplay keeps things on track as if watching a mystery unspool while Morten Tyldum's sure and steady direction balances the story largely due to the strengths of its star and a strong supporting cast particularly Knightley as one of Turning's colleagues.