Review of The Imitation Game (2014) by Tj H — 22 Jan 2016

Based on the 1983 book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges, and directed by Morten Tyldum (Headhunters (2011)), this is a biopic about Alan Turing, an eccentric mathematician who managed to achieve the impossible, in face of adversity and scorn from his peers.

It's a well made character piece with a powerhouse lead brilliantly capturing how this man helped crack an enigma. Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) was a mathematician who was employed by Major General Stewart Menzies (Mark Strong) and Commander Alastair Denniston (Charles Dance) to work at the top secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, to help crack the German Enigma code that could help them win the war.

Turing has come up with a blueprint for a machine that could break the code, but despite scorn and opposition from fellow code-breakers Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) and Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode), Turing is determined to succeed, but he has a dark, illegal secret that will be his downfall.

Benedict Cumberbatch really excels at playing Turing, a man who was notoriously impossible to get along with and always kept to himself, but knew what he was doing when it came to solving the impossible.

It's backed by a good cast, and while it does go back and forth across Turing's life a bit rapidly, it's a well made film.