functional historical drama lands a couple of solid punches

Rating: 8/10 (17 October 2015)

As the war starts, mathmatician professor Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) arrives at Bletchley Park under the militarist Commander Denniston (Charles Dance) to break the German Enigma code. He is joined by math student Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) and chess genius Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode). Stewart Menzies (Mark Strong) is from the secret MI6. The movie also takes place in 1927 with Alan as a student and Christopher Morcom as his only friend and love. In 1951, police detective Robert Nock (Rory Kinnear) investigates Alan for being a Soviet spy but discovers that he's only guilty of homosexuality.
The first half of the movie is a rather traditional historical drama. Cumberbatch is impeccable. Knightley is too much of a starlet. Of course, Denniston is a military blowhard. Turing's homosexuality is limited. It all has the feel of a sanitized docudrama. Then the movie starts landing some solid punches. I love the Hugh Alexander character. Alan and Christopher's relationship is pretty compelling. There is nothing physical but they do use the word love. Menzies is another great character. Alan's confession to detective Nock is riveting and poignant. It's missing his suicide scene. This vehicle started out functional with a couple of squeaky wheels and then it makes a few great turns.