Tragic yet inspiring story of a man covering his own secrets while cracking more secrets

Rating: 9/10 (2 March 2015)

The Imitation Game, based on the true story of Mathematics Genius Alan Turing, is captivating and excels on all accounts, making it a totally enjoyable movie experience and conducive to reflect on our own lives. It is the story of a man, while covering his own secret, spending all his life unlocking national secrets to save the lives of others who eventually put him in torture. His own life is an enigma. How ironic life is!
Alan Turing is such a genius in mathematics and founder of the computing machine but also very awkward in social situations. He is absorbed in his own world, cracking codes since he was a teenager. He is also a philosopher with his own sets of logic – aware from a young age that people do not say what they mean but hope others will understand their symbols/codes. Being bullied at school and at work because he is different, Turing has developed tremendous resilience to resist violence while standing up for what he believes – breaking German codes and winning the war, even if that means sacrificing some people's lives.
With a tightly knit script, the movie touches on three time zones – when Turing studies at a boarding school, when he works at the Bletchley Radio Factory and after the war when he teaches at university. The three periods are seamlessly intertwined and flows beautifully to highlight certain aspects of Turing which last/haunt all his life and make him unique. In a nutshell, he is a complicated person and we as audience also feel a mixture of feelings while watching his endeavor, whether professionally or personally. One easily feel really sorry and despaired, but at the same time inspired and encouraged.
Benedict Cumberbatch is superb in portraying different levels of complexity in Turing's character. While others consider him arrogant and eccentric, we also see him as a single-minded, focused and smart person who just wants to break the codes and end the war. Although others consider him weird, it is exactly this quality that helps him build the decoding machine and save millions of lives by cutting the war short.
Throughout the movie, there is a strong sense of suffering endured by Turing since he was a child, despite his genius in various aspects. It becomes more complicated when his sexual orientation causes him more threat. To makes his life even more intrigue, he is involved in decoding war secrets where no traces are allowed after the war. All these mysterious elements makes the film fascinating to watch.
The support cast and sound track, as well as art direction, are excellent in depicting this unusual person in this extraordinary time. Alex Lawther, who plays young Turing, is magnificent with his limited screen time. His timid, sweet and shy smile, appreciative blinks as well as sad, repressed and determined denials make one's heart break. However, Keira Knightley is perhaps too attractive to playing Joan Clark, another mathematics expert who also feels like an outsider.
History is ironic in a sense that we have to depend on someone abnormal to bring our lives back to normal. And yet society in general, at least back then, does not tolerant people who are seemingly different from the majority and tries to convert the outliers. However, determined, patient and focused, Turing has tremendous confidence in himself which others easily consider as narcissistic and egoistic. Perhaps one needs to do that as defense when one is so different. He probably did not realize his contribution to England as well as mankind when he was absorbed in his work. All he did was work hard in his own territory. Coincidentally Mencius the ancient Chinese philosopher says that "If I believe in what I am doing, I will go ahead even if tens of thousands of people are against me." I can see that in Turing. Although some people even consider Turing as a machine, judging from his deep affection for his childhood friend we can hardly call him a machine.
From the real Mathematics prodigy Alan Turing to the award-winning screenwriter Graham Moore and Benedict Cumberbatch who acted out the character, we are blatantly told that it is OK to be weird and be different. All we need is to realize our potential and make good use of it. Someday, somehow, our efforts will be recognized. Perhaps if we keep it in mind, life is not that bad. Very inspirational and make you think outside the box. May we all be more open-minded coming out of this film.