I've seen too many of these Oscar-bait movies lately!

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2015)

'THE IMITATION GAME': Four Stars (Out of Five)
Critically acclaimed historical drama flick about the famous cryptanalyst Alan Turing, and his team of mathematicians, who helped end World War II by cracking Nazi Germany's Enigma code. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing and costars Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong and Charles Dance. It was directed by Morten Tyldum and written by first time feature film writer Graham Moore (based on the book 'Alan Turing: The Enigma', by Andrew Hodges). In addition to receiving mostly positive reviews from critics, the movie has also been nominated for several major awards (including five Golden Globes) and is an upcoming Oscar hopeful. The film is also yet another awards contender to be negatively criticized for it's historical inaccuracies (much like fellow critical darling 'SELMA'); most notably for exaggerating Turing's social awkwardness, downplaying his homosexuality, slandering his name in other ways (that I won't reveal here) and treating another historical figure like a villain (Commander Denniston). As with 'SELMA', I don't have a problem with the filmmakers taking many creative liberties, with their subject, but I still think it's a highly overrated movie.
The film tells the story of British mathematician Alan Turing (Cumberbatch) and his special team of code-breakers; who were stationed at Hut 8 in Bletchley Park (the British code-breaking station during World War II). The group worked tirelessly to crack Germany's Enigma code and end the war. The movie centers on Turing and his odd relationships with everyone around him, as he obsessed over his important mission. It often cuts to flashbacks of him at boarding school and tells how he had to hide his homosexuality, from everyone around him (due to it being considered a great criminal offense, at the time).
I've seen too many of these Oscar-bait movies lately (like this, 'SELMA', 'UNBROKEN', 'THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING', etc.), as they're all starting to feel pretty corny and overly melodramatic. 2014 is definitely not one of the better years for awards contenders and this film is no exception. I found parts of it to be pretty involving and somewhat intense but then other moments seemed really forced and disingenuous. I like Cumberbatch's performance, as a brilliant but extremely inclusive social outcast, but after hearing how different the real Alan Turing was from his interpretation, I have to admit, it does take some of the emotional involvement out of the viewing experience. The supporting cast is mostly good as well but I didn't care much for Knightley's role in the film (her part is mostly historically inaccurate too and she gave a much better performance, earlier this year, in 'BEGIN AGAIN'). The movie is definitely not without it's moments but it's still pretty disappointing, considering all of the critical acclaim and awards attention it's been getting.
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