The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong

Directed by Morten Tyldum

Synopsis:
Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) is recruited by the British government during World War II to crack a seemingly uncrackable code the Germans used called the Enigma machine.  His offbeat, eccentric and abrasive personality rubs his fellow codebreakers the wrong way, and it's not until Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) arrives does he realize that he cannot crack the code alone, but needs as much help as he could get.

Alan's story is told in a non-linear fashion, moving through three different times in his life - his early childhood years where he forms a close friendship with a boy named Christopher who introduces him to cyphers and codes; his time during the War when he built a machine he called "Christopher" to combat the Enigma machine; and later in life when his personal life comes to the forefront in damaging and degrading ways.

Review:
"The Imitation Game" is one of the best films I've seen in awhile.  It's a highly cerebral story, and a lot of the time I was totally confused as to the mathematics involved, but seeing the genius of Alan Turing coming to life, and how a small group of people changed the course of the war, was a marvel to behold.

Turing's life is a tragic one, and one if you thought about it, you would doubt it was real.  A boy struggling with his sexuality and how to communicate with his fellow students, transforms into a genius who has to keep his sexual identity a secret at the cost of his freedom, becomes an unsung hero by nearly single-handedly winning the war, to all his secrets coming to light and facing public scrutiny and possible incarceration just for who he was.  Benedict Cumberbatch - in a most deserved Oscar-nominated role - gives a brilliant performance, bringing Turing to life and showcasing talent far exceeding most actors of today's generation.

At its heart, "The Imitation Game" shows how the most mundane, the most forgotten, the most ridiculed people can change the course of the future.  A line repeated throughout the film resonates deeply: "Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine."  This was Alan Turing's life, and because of his unmentioned genius, we wouldn't have these little things called "computers" today.  If he had listened to the negative people around him, we would all be speaking German and the idea of the Internet and computers in general wouldn't even be imagined.  But thanks to his strength of character, he chose to do the impossible.

Summary:
A fantastic true-life tale of a man who has been lost in the annals of history, who made one of the biggest contributions to today's society, as well as turning the tide of World War II.

My Rating: A+