A fascinating story which will hopefully inspire viewers to learn the truth behind the drama

Rating: 8/10 (19 March 2015)

As with many films 'inspired by real events' much of what we see in this film has been changed; either to introduce antagonists or to make the film more interesting whether such changes can be justified is a matter for the viewer; I will try to base my comments on what was shown on the screen rather than trying to compare it to real events.
The film opens in 1951 when police arrive at the house of Alan Turing to investigate a burglary. There doesn't appear to be anything missing and he just wants the police to leave; something the investigating officer finds a little unusual. We then flash back to the dark days of the Second World War where Turing is applying for a post at the top secret Bletchley Park code breaking centre. His manner puts him at odds with his superior and those he works with. They are struggling to decode German Enigma codes by hand; an impossible task given the complexity of the system. The code key changes every day and there are millions of possible keys. Turing says he will build a machine that will be able to find the key but even when the machine is built they will have to find a way to reduce the number of possible keys. Intertwined with this story we see flashbacks to his time at school and more of the police investigation into Turing after the war; it is speculated that he is being secretive because he might be a spy; in fact he is hiding his homosexuality which was illegal at the time and would remain so until the late sixties.
Despite knowing how Alan Turing's story ended this was a gripping film; this is largely down to an excellent cast led by Benedict Cumberbatch's brilliant portrayal of Turing; I'm not surprised that he earned an Oscar nomination for it. He is ably supported by others including Keira Knightley who plays Joan Clarke, a fellow code breaker who Turing proposes to, and Charles Dance who plays his antagonistic boss Commander Denniston. The story is told in a way that doesn't assume the viewer knows anything about Turing so the revelation about his sexuality isn't overstated early on although there are obvious clues as the story progresses. If you are interested in this period of history I'd certainly recommend watching this; just remember it is merely 'inspired by real events' hopefully it will inspire viewers to learn more about this great man and the contribution he and the others at Bletchley Park made during the war.