The Imitation Game

Rating: 9/10 (27 January 2015)

During World War II, mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.
The Imitation Game stars a brilliant bunch of British actors such as Keira Knightley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mathew Goode, Allen Leech, Charles Dance and Mark Strong. I've already heard quite a bit about this movie so I was really eager to see it and I had the opportunity to attend a premiere of the film on Monday evening. A brilliant, brilliant, brilliant work by Benedict Cumberbatch. The man is a masterful actor, he's genuinely good in this movie; me writing those things about how amazing he is, it's almost a cliché at this point. He just nailed it and 300% deserves his Oscar nomination for best actor in a leading role. In addition to be well performed this film is also very well directed by Morten Tyldum, who is nominated for best director as well. The work he did with this film by portraying this time period in which people were actually fighting a war without ever touching any guns, it feels like their purpose is even more important than the physical combats that are going on. Moreover, Alan Turing is not the most likable person at first, a bit rude but really smart. It's complicated to understand him but through Benedict Cumberbatch performance, the script and the direction you just find yourself liking this man. This movie is not just about a man who is gay in a time period where it was literally illegal. It's largely about the struggle of hiding who you are and the difficulties that come with it. I think Cumberbatch got it right: the pain and torture it must be for someone to imitate something you're not.
Overall this film looks terrific, the score and performances are excellent and the dialogue is so good that at one point you don't think at it like a dialogue anymore as you're so invested in the movie and the plot. It well deserves its Oscar nomination for Best picture.