Good Acting, Good Direction, Good Movie

Rating: 9/10 (18 January 2015)

It's that time of year again. The time where I need to catch up with all the Oscar Nominees I have yet to see.
I started with THE IMITATION GAME and am glad I did.
This movie tells the true story of Alan Turing, the genius who helped to break the Enigma code by developing the first computer. He was a genius, socially inept, abrasive and...a homosexual. This "condition" was considered a crime in England at the time.
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Turing and is in almost every scene. Consequently, this movie will rise or fall on Cumberbatch's performance. I am happy to report that Cumberbatch more than rises to the occasion. This is, IMHO, his best acting job to date and that is saying something. Cumberbatch plays all the facets of Turing's character and develops a real person with all the good - and bad - included. His performance is one that should - and is - being recognized at award time.
Abling assisting Cumberbatch is Keira Knightley, in her Academy Award nominated performance as his assistant, Joan Clarke. I've always liked Knightley as an actress and am happy to see her continued growth. Also included in this top notch cast are veteran British actors - Matthew Goode, Charles Dance and Mark Strong. They are more than able to spar with Cumberbatch.
The story is told briskly by director Morten Tydlum and held my attention throughout. It is an important story, well told - and well acted.
9 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (of Marquis)