The Imitation Game: Movie Review

Director Morten Tyldum’s “The Imitation Game” tells the story of a very important historical figure that helped shorten the span of World War II, and in turn saved thousands of lives. I am sure that I am not alone when I tell you that before watching this film, I had very little knowledge of English mathematician Alan Turning.

Alan Turning (Played wonderfully by Benedict Cumberbatch) was a genius mathematician and Cryptanalyst turned war hero when he cracked the Germany’s World War II Enigma machine, which was used to send coded messages planning attacks. The process of cracking the Enigma didn’t happen overnight and Alan’s request for funding to build a computer not only infuriated his superior Commander Denniston (Charles Dance), but also his team members, especially Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode). The only member of Alan’s team to support him was Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), who had to prove herself being the only woman working with the team. MI6 agent Stewart Menzies (Mark Strong) also seemed to have some faith in Alan.

Although the focus of “The Imitation Game” is that of Alan Turning’s race to crack the German’s device, we also learn about his personal life. Turning was charged with ‘gross indecency’ and convicted for the criminal offence of homosexuality, which resulted in Alan eventually taking his own life. It is a sad fact that Alan Turning was pardoned for his crimes only a short time ago and that many people are unaware that he pioneered modern-day computing.

The entire cast is great here, but it is Cumberbatch who is front and center with one of the best performances of 2014. Make sure this holiday season you catch this great film and get a bit of a history lesson as well.

By: Marc Ferman