The Imitation Game

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is The Imitation Game.

Directed by Morten Tyldum. 

Written by Graham Moore.

Based on the book - "Alan Turing: The Enigma" Written by Andrew Hodges.

Review #263

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some sexual references, mature thematic material and historical smoking.

Run Time: 114 min

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Cast

Benedict Cumberbatch...Alan Turing

Keira Knightley...Joan Clarke

Matthew Goode...Hugh Alexander

Rory Kinnear...Detective Robert Nock

Allen Leech...John Cairncross

Matthew Beard...Peter Hilton

Charles Dance...Commander Denniston

Mark Strong...Stewart Menzies

Lights....Camera....Popcorn's Quote/Quotes of the Film.

Alan Turing: I like solving problems, Commander. And Enigma is the most difficult problem in the world.

Commander Denniston: Enigma isn't difficult, it's impossible. The Americans, the Russians, the French, the Germans, everyone thinks Enigma is unbreakable.

Alan Turing: Good. Let me try and we'll know for sure, won't we?

This was one of the few choice exchanges Bennedict Cumberbatch had with his fellow cast mates as the brilliant yet very complex Alan Turing. This film exposed Turing's unmatched intelligence while concealing something more important about him.

Plot

During World War II, mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians.

The synopsis like most of the ones I put on this site are very basic and generic. For the most part it's intentional since I try to be spoiler free. However, in some cases the description barely scratches the surface of the film.

This is one of those times.

As expected The Imitation Game is centered around Alan Turing and his revolutionary invention and genius. However, the film dives into his private life which gives the film more substance and heart. Throughout the narrative Turing is very abrasive and opinionated towards every facet of life and the world around him. His dizzying intellect is polarizing to everyone but himself and it frustrates him to no end. This leads to the presentation of his character as an uppity insufferable know it all. He's very abrasive to watch early on and it can turn you off to his story.

Until....

His secret is exposed.

This is what The Imitation Game gets right from the beginning. Had this film been told from the paint by numbers chronology, we'd be talking about an entirely different movie. A more inferior film to be up front about it. The movie does what many others have done with similar characters and their stories and like the previous films it works here. Learning about Turing's childhood while he invents the code breaking computer "Christopher" gives the audience a nice change of pace from the formulaic breakdown films like this tend to employ.

A good performance doesn't hurt either and Benedict Cumberbatch provided that. Was it worth the Oscar nomination? That's up for debate. I for one don't think so. Just my opinion. I think Cumberbatch is a tremendous talent. I LOVE him in the Sherlock series and he's done some great work in other films. He makes Star Trek Into Darkness worth watching which is saying a LOT! I'm looking forward to seeing what he will do with Dr. Strange. He certainly has the chops and gravitas to play the role. The man is a great actor who's earned all the praise and heat he's getting right now.

That being said he wasn't alone here.

A leading actor is only as good as his supporting cast and the rest of Turing's team played off the enigmatic savant like a well oiled machine. Many will immediately point to Keira Knightley as the one who goes toe to toe with Cumberbatch. A fair point but I thought that Matthew Goode was more of a force against Cumberbatch. He's another good actor who has been in a lot of smaller pictures. His defiance to Turing's desire to build the computer gave the film an interesting power struggle. How do the teammates handle clashing ego's and opposite agendas in the face of an ongoing war where their task has a deadline on it every single day.

This was one of the most intriguing things I experienced watching this film. The fact that Turing and the other code breakers were not just bound by the limits of their intelligence but by the clock. Being able to manage the frustration of failing to break the Enigma machine in the allotted time which may have led to hundreds or thousands of soldiers deaths is not an easy pill to swallow. This gets compounded by the constant disagreement of attacking the Nazi's codes among the team members.

Once the mystery is finally solved The Imitation Game gives us the reward we were waiting for. It was a satisfying moment to watch as Turing figures it out at the most unexpected time from the most unexpected person. Whether this a ha moment actually happened or if it was Hollywood story telling is up for you to decide. I tend to believe the latter explanation. It doesn't change the fact that it was really fun to see the team achieve their goal. There is a moment to nitpick with this film after "Christopher" deciphers the codes. After all this euphoria the film pulls the rug from under you and hits you with a dose of reality which effects one of the team members in a profound way. At the outset it's handled very well dramatically then it gets swept away for more Turing drama. I would have preferred to stay with this dynamic a little longer. There were places to trim to give the moment I'm talking about more time.

It's too bad that it didn't happen.

Final tally is easy. The Imitation Game is a really good film filled with tense and intriguing drama involving a brilliant man who had so much left to offer this world if not for the barbaric minded times he lived in. Benedict Cumberbatch is superb and channels the tortured soul Turing was before, during and after the war. There was just a small disconnect between some story elements that would have made this a much more powerful film.

Which is saying a lot because this movie is pretty strong already.

On the 5 star scale. The Imitation Game gets 3.5 stars with a "Go See It!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"