The Imitation Game (2014) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON TV During World War II, mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians. Director: Famous Directors: From Sundance to Prominence From Christopher Nolan to Quentin Tarantino and every Coen brother in between, many of today's most popular directors got their start at the Sundance Film Festival . Here's a list of some of the biggest names to go from Sundance to Hollywood prominence.

a list of 29 titles created 23 Aug 2014 a list of 26 titles created 05 Nov 2014 a list of 24 titles created 17 Dec 2014 a list of 49 titles created 15 Oct 2015 a list of 35 titles created 5 days ago Title: The Imitation Game (2014) 8.1/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 1 Oscar. Another 44 wins & 155 nominations. See more awards » Videos With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent. Director: David Fincher The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.

Director: Wes Anderson A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity's survival. Director: Christopher Nolan A look at the relationship between the famous physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife. Director: James Marsh Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort , from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government. Director: Martin Scorsese Illustrated upon the progress of his latest Broadway play, a former popular actor's struggle to cope with his current life as a wasted actor is shown. Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu In 1954, a U.S. marshal investigates the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane. Director: Martin Scorsese A thief, who steals corporate secrets through use of dream-sharing technology, is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO. Director: Christopher Nolan In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup , a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

Director: Steve McQueen With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner. Director: Quentin Tarantino In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same. Directors: Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth Stars: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth After John Nash , a brilliant but asocial mathematician, accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn for the nightmarish. Director: Ron Howard Edit Storyline Based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing, the film portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team of code-breakers at Britain's top-secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II.

Written by Studio Canal Behind every code is an enigma See more » Genres: Rated PG-13 for some sexual references, mature thematic material and historical smoking | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 25 December 2014 (USA) See more » Also Known As: El código enigma See more » Filming Locations: $479,352 (USA) (28 November 2014) Gross: Did You Know? Trivia Matthew Beard , who plays Peter Hilton, considered the Hut 8 Team as "The Avengers in Tweed". See more » Goofs Many interviews conducted with many of the people who worked at Bletchley Park have said many times that they had been instructed not to ask about activities in other huts. There's several scenes where other characters do just that, such as when the code breakers are celebrating in the pub and ask Helen about her work in her hut and also when Joan mentions about how the girls in one hut had been in a row over events in another hut. See more » Quotes [first lines] Alan Turing : Are you paying attention? Good. If you're not listening carefully you will miss things. Important things.

I will not pause, I will not repeat myself, and you will not interrupt me. If you think that because you're sitting where you are and I am sitting where I am that you are in control of what is about to happen, you 're mistaken. I am in control, because I know things that you do not know. Written and Performed by Ed Palermo (as Eddie Palermo) Courtesy of Warner Chappell Production Music (United Kingdom) – See all my reviews Alan Turing, Mathematician, Logician, Wartime Codebreaker and father of Computer Science. A great British Hero. A great hero in the fight against prejudice. This film tackles themes of prejudice against the feminine, against homosexuality and more generally against anyone who is different. How? By simply pointing out, using the example of Alan Turing and his colossal achievements, that it takes someone different to do something amazing. And an amazing story it is, packaged in a beautifully tight screenplay without a wasted scene, that keeps the audience fully engaged throughout. All the cast are on top form, in orbit around a stellar performance by Benedict Cumberbatch that layers humour, complexity, sexuality and the palpable frustration of a brilliant mind not quite able to communicate with his fellow humans.

A film that depicts a man who perhaps fails the test he invented, that is now named after him. The Turing Test. Can he fool you that he is a real human being and not a super intelligent machine? The stress of playing that Imitation Game is set into every micro twitch of the central character. Should you go see it? No special effects. No interstellar spaceships. Why not wait for the download? Go see it! Because otherwise you would be missing the chance to see a most remarkable film, performed to perfection. A film about a story that matters, about events that changed history and simply about a man without whom you might not even be able to read this review on your Turing machine. 185 of 249 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes The Imitation Game cracks code to win People's Choice Award at Toronto 2014 | Film | The Guardian Toronto film festival 2014 The Imitation Game cracks code to win People's Choice Award at Toronto 2014 Story of Alan Turing starring Benedict Cumberbatch has won the People’s Choice Award at the 38th Toronto film festival, a prize generally considered a key indicator of Oscar success Sunday 14 September 2014 14.08 EDT Last modified on Thursday 9 June 2016 11.00 EDT Close This article is 2 years old The Imitation Game has won the People’s Choice Award at the 38th Toronto film festival , meaning the wartime drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Bletchley Park cryptologist Alan Turing is all but guaranteed a starring role at next year’s Oscars. The film, a Working Title production directed by Morten Tyldum, shows how Turing headed a team tasked to decipher Engima-encrypted German communications during the second world war.

It also flashes forward to his interrogation by a policeman following a curious burglary in the early 1950s, and back to a friendship with a fellow schoolboy. Cumberbatch’s prickly, witty lead performance has won universal plaudits, and there was acclaim, too, for Keira Knightley, who plays a fellow mathematician to whom Turing was briefly engaged. American critics have been especially rapturous, with British reviews more lukewarm . The People’s Choice Award at Toronto has recently come to be regarded as a key measure of future awards glory. Since 2008, three best picture Oscar winners - 12 Years a Slave, The King’s Speech and Slumdog Millionaire - also took top prize at Toronto, while two of the others (Silver Linings Playbook, Precious) scored eight and six nominations respectively. That those three were, like The Imitation Game , of British pedigree, further cements the festival’s reputation as an especially friendly launchpad for UK film. Pinterest Benedict Cumberbatch poses with fans at The Imitation Game premiere.

Photograph: George Pimentel/Getty Images The People’s Choice Award is voted for by press, industry and punters alike; anyone who sees a public screening simply drops their ticket stub into a box if they feel it should win. It’s a system that has proved unusually in-tune with Academy tastes (perhaps in part because of the high Hollywood turnout at the festival), and one which favours films with a big finish, that leave the audience emotional as they head for the exits. The Imitation Game does not - as anyone who knows the story of Turing will guess - have a classically happy ending. But the achievements of a man ill-treated by the state, not only in saving millions of lives but also in inventing a prototype computer, are flagged up in the credits. Pinterest Michael Fassbender and Steve McQueen at the Toronto 2013 premiere of 12 Years a Slave. Photograph: Todd Williamson/Invision for FOX Searchlight The win was no sure thing; the 2014 festival was notable for showcasing a range of strong titles with no clear standout; by contrast, last year’s victory for Slave was a doddle to call.

Other possible winners had looked to include the other brilliant scientist biopic of the festival: James Marsh’s The Theory of Everything, starring Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking. Rival contenders included Whiplash, starring JK Simmons as a ferocious drum teacher, which first premiered at Sundance in January, where it took both jury and audience awards , and St Vincent, a Bill Murray comedy which met with a delighted reception. That film took the award for third prize, while the surprise recipient of the runner’s up award was Learning to Drive, a comedy romance from Isabel Coixet starring Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson. The Imitation Game was one of an unusual number of biopics screened at the festival based on the lives of those still fresh in memory . Other highlights included two standout comedies - Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young and Chris Rock’s Top Five - and a widely-acclaimed media satire starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler. Pinterest Keira Knightley, Matthew Beard, Matthew Goode, Benedict Cumberbatch and Allen Leech in The Imitation Game.

Photograph: PR The Beats of the Anatov, a study of Sudanese cattle herders, took the documentary prize for Hajooj Kuka, over the much-fancied The Look of Silence , Joshua Oppenheimer’s followup to The Act of Killing. Toronto ended on Sunday with the premiere of closing night film, A Little Chaos, directed by Alan Rickman and starring Kate Winslet. It tops off a three week run of film festivals which began in Venice, before moving to Telluride, and then on to Canada. Next stop will be New York at the end of September, for a festival which boasts two big premieres: David Fincher’s Gone Girl, and Inherent Vice, which marks the reunion of director Paul Thomas Anderson and The Master star Joaquin Phoenix. The Imitation Game (2014) | Fandango The Imitation Game PG-13 , 1 hr 53 min Drama 8,195 Fan Ratings Tell us where you are Looking for movie tickets? Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing The Imitation Game near you. ENTER ZIP OR CITY, STATE The Imitation Game: Trailer 1 Acting is in his blood.

Superstardom is his destiny. Keeping it real is how he rolls. Benedict Cumberbatch is the subject of this Fandango FrontRunners. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on Pinterest The Imitation Game Synopsis Alan Turing, a pioneer of computers, led a group of scholars to crack the codes of Germany's WWII Enigma machine. A genius under nail-biting pressure helped to save millions of lives and was ultimately convicted for the crime of homosexuality. Cast + Crew The Imitation Game By jirvinj An exceptional film, with a performance by Benedict Cumberbatch that will break your heart. An exciting, intelligent work that will touch anyone with its artful vision, historical relevance, and a... Fascinating film with career best from Benedict Cumberbatch By sarahwa All I'd like to say is that it's the first film where the audience around me clapped at the end. Throughout the film they were as quiet as a church mouse , concentrating on the story as it unfolded. ... Sublime Performance from Cumberbatch By betina100 I saw this film a few weeks ago at a festival screening and it stays long in the mind and especially Cumberbatch's moving performance.

I wasn't aware of Alan Turing before seeing the film but have... Amazing movie. By johnharrison667 I saw an advance screening of this movie and was so moved by it. It's such a powerful story and so masterfully executed by Cumberbatch and the rest of the cast. (Turing's life ought to be taught in... Fascinating, Heartbreaking Story - Beautifully Acted By nnschiff A phenomenal, heartbreaking film with captivating performances. Benedict Cumberbatch once again amazes.... This is an important movie By hotskoz No spoiler alert needed. The Nazis did it and we won the war. This is the story of how the war was actually won in a small building in the middle of England.. But more than all that this is the story... Outstanding performance by Benedict Cumberbatch By chrisberni Very good film, the kind that leaves you deep in contemplation as the credits roll. Great cast all around, and Benedict Cumberbatch was just outstanding. If you thought that Alan Turing sounds a bit...

Brilliant evocation of an "on the spectrum" genius By dafishman While not a biopic of Alan Turing (it omits many of his achievements, while wrongly attributes to him leadership in the restriction of dissemination of Ultra decodes), The Imitation Game succeeds... It was ok. L.V. Anderson L.V. Anderson is a Slate associate editor. Just how inaccurate are those inaccuracies? I read the masterful biography that the screenplay is based on, Andrew Hodges’ Alan Turing: The Enigma , to find out. I discovered that The Imitation Game takes major liberties with its source material, injecting conflict where none existed, inventing entirely fictional characters, rearranging the chronology of events, and misrepresenting the very nature of Turing’s work at Bletchley Park. At the same time, the film might paint Turing as being more unlovable than he actually was. For details on the film’s flights of fancy, read on. (There will, naturally, be spoilers.) Advertisement Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) Wikimedia Commons / © 2014 - The Weinstein Company The Alan Turing played by Benedict Cumberbatch is brusque, humorless, and brilliant.

In an early scene where he is interviewed by Commander Denniston (Charles Dance), we learn that he made exceptional achievements in mathematics at a young age. This is a reflection of reality: Turing was elected as a fellow at Cambridge at the age of 22, and he published his most influential paper, “ On Computable Numbers ,” at 24. Other aspects of Cumberbatch’s characterization are true to life, as well: Turing was fairly indifferent to politics, both in the interpersonal sense and in the civic sense. He ran marathons. He was also gay, and even more openly than the film implies. Hodges’ biography is filled with instances in which Turing boldly made advances toward other men—mostly without success. Turing also told his friends and colleagues about his homosexuality. However, the central conceit of The Imitation Game—that Turing singlehandedly invented and physically built the machine that broke the Germans’ Enigma code—is simply untrue.

A predecessor of the “Bombe”—the name given to the large, ticking machine that used rotors to test different letter combinations—was invented by Polish cryptanalysts before Turing even began working as a cryptologist for the British government.* Turing’s great innovation was to design a new machine that broke the Enigma code faster by looking for likely letter combinations and ruling out combinations that were unlikely to yield results. Turing didn’t develop the new, improved machine by dint of his own singular genius—the mathematician Gordon Welchman, who is not even mentioned in the film, collaborated with Turing on the design. Advertisement Leaving aside Turing’s codebreaking achievements, The Imitation Game also somewhat alters Turing’s personality. The film strongly implies that Alan is somewhere on the autism spectrum: Cumberbatch’s character doesn’t understand jokes, takes common expressions literally, and seems indifferent to the suffering and annoyance he causes in others. This characterization is rooted in Hodge’s biography but is also largely exaggerated: Hodges never suggests that Turing was autistic, and though he refers to Turing’s tendency to take contracts and other bureaucratic red tape literally, he also describes Turing as a man with a keen sense of humor and close friends.

To be sure, Hodges paints Turing as shy, eccentric, and impatient with irrationality, but Cumberbatch’s narcissistic, detached Alan has more in common with the actor’s title character in Sherlock than with the Turing of Hodges’ biography. One of Turing’s colleagues at Bletchley Park later recalled him as “a very easily approachable man” and said “we were very very fond of him”; none of this is reflected in the film. In addition to the more significant creative liberties that the movie takes, there are small fictions surrounding his character in the movie. Although, in the movie, Alan tells Denniston that he doesn’t know German, Turing did in fact study German and travel to Germany before and after the war. Turing did not, as far as we know, have a compulsion to separate his peas and carrots. (In fact, given his generally unkempt appearance, it’s highly unlikely he gave attention to such details.) And whether or not Turing liked sandwiches—a key plot point in The Imitation Game—goes unmentioned in Hodges’ biography.

Christopher Morcom (Jack Bannon) In flashbacks to 1928 in The Imitation Game, we learn that Alan’s first love was a classmate at boarding school named Christopher. Christopher rescues Alan after he’s nailed under the floorboards by bullies, teaches Alan to communicate via codes and ciphers, flirts with Alan, and then suddenly dies of bovine tuberculosis. Advertisement Although many of the details are invented for the movie, the gist of this storyline is true: Turing really did befriend and develop romantic feelings for a boy named Christopher Morcom at Sherborne School, the boys’ school in Dorset that he attended as a teenager. (He also did get trapped under the floorboards by other boys, according to Alan Turing: The Enigma, but this occurred before he met Morcom.) Morcom died from bovine tuberculosis in 1930, shortly after he’d been accepted to Cambridge and three years after Turing had first met him.

In the movie, it’s implied that Christopher shares Alan’s attraction, but it seems likely that Turing’s affection for Morcom was unrequited—Turing later wrote, “Chris knew I think so well how I liked him, but hated me shewing it.” Several other details of their relationship are different in the movie than in Alan Turing: The Enigma. Although in the movie Christopher is taller than young Alan (Alex Lawther), in reality Turing had a growth spurt at 15, while Morcom was “surprisingly small for his form.” (Morcom was one year ahead of Turing in school.) Turing and Morcom bonded over math and chemistry, not ciphers; Turing began exploring ciphers with another friend at Sherborne after Morcom had died. The biggest departure from reality in the film is the scene where the headmaster informs Alan of Christopher’s death, and Alan denies having known Christopher very well. In real life, Turing was openly devastated by Morcom’s death, and he subsequently developed a relationship with Morcom’s family, going on vacations with them and maintaining a correspondence with Morcom’s mother for years after he’d left Sherborne.

Additionally, Turing did not call any of the early computers he worked on “Christopher”—that is a dramatic flourish invented by screenwriter Graham Moore. Commander Denniston (Charles Dance) Screenshot © 2014 - The Weinstein Company Advertisement In The Imitation Game, Commander Denniston is a rigid naval officer who resents Alan’s indifference to the military hierarchy and attempts to fire him when his decryption machine fails to deliver fast results. This characterization is mostly fictional, and Denniston’s family has taken issue with the film’s negative portrayal of him . The real-life Alastair Denniston, who spent most of his career as the director of the Government Code and Cypher School, was eager to expand his staff to help break the Germans’ Enigma code in the late 1930s. He recruited Turing, on the basis of his work at Cambridge and his writing on hypothetical computation machines, in 1938, and he hired Turing to work full time at Bletchley Park when Britain entered World War II in September 1939.

There’s no record of a contentious interview between Turing and Denniston, and Denniston never tried to fire Turing from the Government Code and Cypher School—rather, given his innovations, Turing was a star of Bletchley Park. Even if most of the details of the conflict between Commander Denniston and Alan are made up, they do stand in for a real-life power struggle between the military brass and the cryptologists. Turing’s colleagues there recalled that Turing “was always impatient of pompousness or officialdom of any kind,” which made him ill-suited for work in a military context, and Hodges writes that he “had little time for Denniston.” One of the most memorable clashes between Commander Denniston and Alan in the movie occurs when Alan goes over Denniston’s head to write a letter to Winston Churchill, who immediately puts Alan in charge of the Enigma-breaking operation and grants him the 100,000 pounds he needs to build his machine. This never happened, but Alan and three colleagues at Bletchley Park—including Hugh Alexander—did write a letter to Churchill requesting more staff and resources in 1941, and Churchill quickly granted them their requests.

Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode) Wikimedia Commons / © 2014 - The Weinstein Company In The Imitation Game, Hugh Alexander is a suave ladykiller who spends much of the film battling with Alan for control of the codebreaking operations; Hugh eventually recognizes Alan’s genius and falls in line behind him. Hugh Alexander—who went professionally by Conel Hugh O’Donel Alexander or C.H.O’D. Alexander—was a real person, but the film’s Hugh character seems intended to serve as a contrast to Alan’s antisocial personality. Advertisement The film is faithful to the basic facts: Alexander was a chess champion, and he was much better at managing people than Turing was. However, Alexander was not initially assigned to be Turing’s superior at Bletchley Park. Alexander began working there several months after Turing arrived, and the two didn’t begin working together for another year or so, when Alexander was transferred to Turing’s team to work on breaking Germany’s naval Enigma code. Hodges writes, “Hugh Alexander soon proved the all-round organiser and diplomat that Alan could never be.” Alexander eventually took over naval Enigma decryption after Turing began pursuing a speech decryption project, but by all accounts, their relationship was friendly and mutually respectful.

In fact, when Turing was tried for indecency in 1952, Alexander served as a character witness for the defense. Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) © 2014 - The Weinstein Company Keira Knightley’s character in The Imitation Game is a brilliant, spunky young mathematician whom Alan agrees to marry to get her conservative parents off her back. As with other storylines, the skeleton of this narrative is true, even if the details are not. Clarke was recruited to Bletchley Park by her former academic supervisor (and Turing’s partner in improving the Bombe) Gordon Welchman; she didn’t win the role by excelling in a crossword competition. (Bletchley recruiters did use crosswords to find talented codebreakers, but neither Turing nor Clarke was involved in this effort.) And Turing proposed to Clarke not to help her escape from overbearing parents, but because they liked each other. He “told her that he was glad he could talk to her ‘as to a man,’ ” writes Hodges, and they shared an interest in chess and botany. She even accepted Turing’s homosexuality; their engagement continued after he confessed his attraction to men.

But after some months, Turing ended the engagement. “It was neither a happy nor an easy decision,” writes Hodges, but it wasn’t the ultimately violent confrontation depicted in The Imitation Game, either. “There had been several times when he had come out with ‘I do love you.’ Lack of love was not Alan’s problem.” Turing and Clarke kept in touch after their engagement ended, and Turing even tried to rekindle their relationship after a couple of years, but Clarke rebuffed him. Turing also wrote a letter to Clarke in 1952 to inform her of his impending trial for indecency, but the final scene of The Imitation Game, in which Joan visits Alan during his probation, is invented. Advertisement THE IMITATION GAME Images Featuring Benedict Cumberbatch | Collider SHARE TWEET 0 He’s not a superhero in the comicbook sense, but genius mathematician and cryptographer Alan Turing saved many lives during World War II thanks to his deciphering of Nazi codes. Today, new images debuted from director Morten Tyldum’s Turing bioppic, The Imitation Game , which stars Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role.

Also appearing in the new images is Cumberbatch’s co-star, Keira Knightley, who plays a woman from a very conservative background who not only forms a complicated relationship with Turing but is there for him until the end. That end came not long after his own government convicted him on charges of “gross indecency” as a homosexual; he took his life two years later at the age of 41. Also starring Mark Strong, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Allen Leech, and Matthew Beard, the film opens November 21st. Hit the jump to view the new The Imitation Game images. The Imitation Game images come courtesy of The Weinstein Company. Cumberbatch had this to say about his preparation for the role (via EW ): “He’s an exceptional man,” says Cumberbatch, who prepped for the role by perfecting Turing’s stuttering cadences and studying his correspondence with the mother of his high school crush.

“I hope this film does justice to this unsung hero.” Here’s the official synopsis for The Imitation Game: In THE IMITATION GAME, Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal. Related Content The Imitation Game Reviews - Metacritic 10 foxgrove Nov 28, 2014 This true story of the breaking of the enigma code, which effectively ended World War 2, could so easily have turned out to be one of those overly clichéd and conventional bio-pics. However, in the hands of director Morten Tyldum it has, surprisingly, become so much more. Starting with a smart and dense screenplay, which hones in on three different periods of time in the life of code breaker Alan Turing, the story is utterly compelling.

Wisely, itThis true story of the breaking of the enigma code, which effectively ended World War 2, could so easily have turned out to be one of those overly clichéd and conventional bio-pics. However, in the hands of director Morten Tyldum it has, surprisingly, become so much more. Starting with a smart and dense screenplay, which hones in on three different periods of time in the life of code breaker Alan Turing, the story is utterly compelling. Wisely, it has also been told in a straightforward and un complicated manner and after about 10 minutes one gets a dizzying sense that the film is going to be an absolute gem, a feeling that reaches fulfilment 2 hours later as the credits roll. The recreation of time and place has been lovingly captured via excellent production design. In fact, the film is rich in detail. There are breathtaking vistas of war torn Britain which includes shots of bombers wreaking devastation over London and submarines firing rockets, as well as more ordinary depictions of rubble strewn streets and houses. It is also good to see the appropriate use of historic Bletchley Park as a backdrop to where all these events actually unfolded over 70 years ago.

The editing seamlessly takes us from year to year without confusion or jarring transitions and the scenes leading up to, and immediately following, the breaking of the code are just thrilling. The music is another plus and whilst not particularly melodic it underscores what is happening on screen brilliantly. Criticism has been levelled at the film for not focusing more on Turing’s sexuality which is as untrue as it is unfair. Beyond seeing him actually bonking we have more than enough information as to the effect his sexuality had on his life and, ultimately his death. Scenes of his childhood also give insight into the man he would become. End titles, unlike the recent ‘Foxcatcher’ are also helpful and informative. Ultimately, the film belongs to its powerful cast. Benedict Cumberbatch is a revelation and he brings real humanity to the tortured Turing. Some of his moments, particularly near the end, are almost unbearably moving. Keira Knightley is almost his equal in a smaller but crucial role. She has real power here as Turing’s one time fiancé, the lone woman breaker who as it turns out is better than the men. Supporting actors Charles Dance, Rory Kinnear and Mark Strong all contribute characters that are more than mere ciphers.

Also, it is to the credit of the boy playing Turing as a young man that we believe in the subsequent actions and performance of Cumberbatch. Rarely is a film as all encompassing and engrossing as this one. It is a triumph on every level and a cinematic treat.… Expand 14 of 20 users found this helpful146 10 zouz123 Feb 26, 2015 Loved the actors, loved the story, loved everything about this movie. Even if you don't like history or drama movies, you'll def like this one. It's a truly inspiring though sad story about an amazing hero. What a shame it is to know how cruel our own governments could be. I recommend you read more about Alan Turing, because you can learn a lot.

10/10 1 of 3 users found this helpful12 9 Compi24 Apr 15, 2015 Whether it's Benedict Cumberbatch's heartbreaking turn as the brilliant yet troubled tech pioneer Alan Turing, Morten Tyldum's clever and polished directorial work, Graham Moore's emotionally broad screenplay, or Alexandre Desplat's resonant score, one of these astounding aspects of "The Imitation Game" is sure to blow you away - if not all. 2 of 3 users found this helpful21 8 TrilobiteG Sep 30, 2015 A fine representation of a true story with a edgy bias towards his suffering. The presentation of this real life person seemed to feel a little to close to one side of his personality but they nailed the head on the disturbing anti-gay agenda and reality of war at the time which made me sick to my stomach. There was just nothing overwhelmingly praiseworthy even if 90% of this movie is enjoyable.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00 8 NedRyerson1 Jan 12, 2015 The Imitation Game is a biopic and historical film, but it never becomes boring, the dynamism is well achieved by telling the story in three different times: Alan in the school, Alan at world war II trying to break Enigma (by itself a great story for a movie) and Alan in the present, when he is nothing but ordinary. The big thing is how these three tales are mixed up to reveal the real essence of the protagonist, his objectives, joys, fears andThe Imitation Game is a biopic and historical film, but it never becomes boring, the dynamism is well achieved by telling the story in three different times: Alan in the school, Alan at world war II trying to break Enigma (by itself a great story for a movie) and Alan in the present, when he is nothing but ordinary. The big thing is how these three tales are mixed up to reveal the real essence of the protagonist, his objectives, joys, fears and concerns.

The complexity of this character is beyond imagination, there are no words to describe Benedict Cumberbatch's performance, probably nobody could have done better; he definitely carries the movie on his shoulders. And by his side is Keira Knightley, whom maybe gave us her best acting in years. The problems start because the emphasis on the characters is so huge, that other things are left behind and not well appreciated, like the clever screenplay, the beautiful score and the coherent cinematography. However, as the story goes by, you discover the strong message behind it exposing one more time the awful nature of human being. At least there movies like this one to teach us, better late than never.… Expand 2 of 3 users found this helpful21 7 shiftworker Aug 22, 2016 Benedict Cumberbatch leaves me cold, but here it fits the character and the intelligence effort during World War 2 is interesting material. If you're strongly anti-gay you won't appreciate what the main lead is going through so don't bother. 0 of 0 users found this helpful00 0 reklaw23 Feb 6, 2015 Utter rubbish is very polite.

Keira Knightley is hopeless as usual and Alan Turin was not a genius and neither did he have a basic understanding of logic . This film is nothing but propaganda about a pathetic waste of money and a failiure . Anyone with any maths or logic solving abilities would have applied a 650 year old principle. If Alan Turin had looked at the problem for what it was, the code could have been cracked with a widely available atUtter rubbish is very polite. Keira Knightley is hopeless as usual and Alan Turin was not a genius and neither did he have a basic understanding of logic . This film is nothing but propaganda about a pathetic waste of money and a failiure . Anyone with any maths or logic solving abilities would have applied a 650 year old principle. If Alan Turin had looked at the problem for what it was, the code could have been cracked with a widely available at the time piece of equipment very quickly sat on the toilet. Occams Razor is the most basic logic principle that any supposed mathmetician would have applied first but what do you expect from Cambridge or Oxford University other than lies and false claims.

I wouldnt even watch a film on TV with Keira Knightley or anything associated with her or the Benedict dork in as I find them both very distasteful given that they are trying to make money out of glamourising a creepy failiure of a man whose ineptness cost people their lives and also cost a lot of money.… Expand 4 of 34 users found this helpful430 The Imitation Game – Cumberbatch Faces Down A Fascist Armageddon - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News The Imitation Game – Cumberbatch Faces Down A Fascist Armageddon Posted by Hannah Means Shannon November 28, 2014 Comment By Chris Maltby The Imitation Game , in its original definition, is a party game. A man and a woman go into separate rooms and then guests attempt to tell them apart by asking a series of questions, and both the man and woman send out a series of answers with the specific intention of convincing the participants that one is actually the other.

It was from this parlour game that pioneering mathematician, logician and cryptanalyst Alan Turing took the name, applying it to his research into artificial intelligence, devising a series of questions to see if a computer’s ability to think is indistinguishable, or clearly separate from that of a human being. In director Morten Tyldum’s version of ‘Game’, adapted from Andrew Hodges’ biography of Turing, and starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role, the titular game takes on many forms. Preconceived ideas of who or what a person is or can be and the way they present themselves, run tandem to covert motivations, and the secret codes and hidden meanings embedded in the subject of Turing’s work develop additional dimensions when viewed alongside the convoluted and contrarian interactions between human beings, friends and enemies. Set during the darkest days of World War II, ‘Game’ follows the recruitment of Turing into Great Britain’s Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. There, with a group of England’s leading young minds, Turing must learn to work alongside his presumed peers to decipher the Nazi’s Enigma Code, the unbreakable cipher that had given Germany an almost indomitable edge during the war.

The film collapses time, bouncing back and forth through three distinct periods in Turing’s life, touching on his early, intensely formative years at boarding school, and flashing through the wartime era to the 1950’s, where a detective, played by the great Rory Kinnear, suspicious of this seemingly errant professor, seeks to uncover the truth behind whatever it is he might be hiding. Those familiar with Turing’s history are well aware of what this secret is , and, to its credit, the film does not present Turing’s violations of the Victorian-era Labouchere Amendment as a bombastic dramatic reveal. Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Turing is a thrum of squirrely restlessness, a focused intensity that sacrifices a sense of being in the world while aloofly set apart from it. Though there may have been trepidation that Cumberbatch would bring too much of his Spectrum-skirting Sherlock to the role of Turing, that thought recedes as Cumberbatch dissapears into the skin of Turing, playing him less as a bombastic genius and more of a reluctant savant, unsure of how to interact in a world where the rules are so clearly different to his specialized fields.

Screenwriter Graham Moore’s script, which crowned the annual Black List in 2011, while never achieving the distinction of being subtle, is oftentimes funny, witty and sharp, and allows ample opportunity for the supporting cast to show their mettle. An early opening scene between Turing and Charles Dance as the military head of Bletchley, is a deft battle of wills and words, evocative of Dance’s recent work on Game of Thrones. Mark Strong, as Maj. Gen. Stewart Menzies, Bletchley’s liaison to MI6, essentially performs a test run for his inevitable casting as M in the Bond franchise, perfectly balancing the actors signature mix of humor, mystery and subtle malevolence. The rest of the cast is uniformly fantastic, from a reserved Kiera Knightley as Joan Clarke, Turing’s friend and eventual fiance, to Matthew Goode’s initially reluctant co-worker and eventual confederate, but never rise above the limitations of a script which provides only passing nods to the bleakness of its true story.

Tyldum, who brought an unnerving grittiness to his 2011 Norwegian hit Headhunters, instead goes for a far more lavish look with Game, opting for less director-ly flourishes and more Masterpiece Theatre-esque established staging. The look of the film, lensed by Óscar Faura, cinematographer for The Impossible, is rich; lush and vibrant, lending the film a fleshed out vividness, a portrayal of wartime Britain that, like the script, avoids any of the grittiness of the reality of an England facing down the spectre of fascist armageddon. By the third time the films apparent mantra is repeated, its heavy handedness has become a bludgeon that threatens to demolish the scaffolding the film has assembled up to that point. While its inevitable devolution into cliche ridden Oscar bait is unfortunate, for the majority of it’s time The Imitation Game is an engaging look into one of WWII’s most fascinating secret histories, and a telling indictment of how, even when doing their part to rescue us from the agents of our worst selves, our tolerance for unconventional heroes who both think and act outside of the box is historically, shamefully limited.

Chris Maltby is an NYC based street walkin’ cheetah with a heart full of napalm. You can find him on Twitter @TheMovieFilth if you dare.

Question: Who took the lead role in the 2014 film "The Imitation Game"?
Answer: Benedict Cumberbatch