A serious game

Rating: 8/10 (30 May 2015)

"The Imitation Game" is an absorbing film, but different to what I expected.
Although it tells how British mathematics genius Alan Turing developed a machine to break the Nazis Enigma Code during WW2, the film is as much about the turmoil and pain in his life brought about by his homosexuality – this in an era when to express it physically could destroy a man's reputation and land him in prison.
This other aspect of Turing's life gives the film emotional depth as he comes to terms with his true nature; even the charms of Keira Knightly as his co-code breaker, Joan Clark, can't sway him from his natural instincts.
The story of how the team at Bletchley Park broke the Nazi code is fascinating. Turing and his associates – the geeks of their day, boffins back then – were chosen because they possessed a variety of skills not least of which was the ability to solve complicated crossword puzzles. The tension in the film builds as they race against time to predict the movements of German U-Boats, which were strangling Britain's supply line.
I remember the astonishment around the world when Frederick Winterbotham's book, "The Ultra Secret", came out in the mid-1970's, revealing that the British were able to read top secret German codes throughout most of the war. It was almost as big a surprise as if we had learned that Hitler had actually been a British double agent all along.
The story has been covered before in films and documentaries. In fact, "The Imitation Game" is partly based on the book, "Alan Turing: the Enigma" by Andrew Hodges, which was filmed in 1996 starring Derek Jacobi as Turing. That film focused almost exclusively on the problems in his personal life, while "The Imitation Game" presents a bigger picture, with more of his involvement with Ultra.
Benedict Cumberbatch obviously dug deep for his performance. Although Keira Knightly has been criticised as being too glamorous for the role of real-life Joan Clark, effort was made with costume and makeup to help her fit the part.
You can't blame Cumberbatch for looking disappointed when he didn't win the Best Actor Oscar. Unfortunately for him it was a year of great performances, and he would have to curse his luck coming up against someone playing Stephen Hawking.
"The Imitation Game" is an intriguing film about an intriguing man whose genius could not protect him from the cruel censure of society at the time.