The Imitation Game is directed by Norwegian Morten Tyldum and starts Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, a key figure in the efforts towards cracking the Nazi's Enigma code that helped the Allies to victory in World War Two. Turing is employed by Commander Alastair Denniston (Charles Dance) and sets about creating a complex deciphering machine called "Christopher". Along with a team of code-breakers (Keira Knightly, Matthew Goode) based at Britain's top secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, they have to race against the clock in order to get the machine up and running before the Nazi's inflict more pain and suffering to the already battered front lines of the Allied Forces. The film spans across various stages in Turing's life, highlighting his battles with his emotional state of mind, his relationships with people and how his awkward but genius personae shaped the course of his rollercoaster life.
Back in the glory days of school, we had a science lesson about the iconic Professor Stephen Hawking and watched a BBC TV drama on how he came up with the "Big Bang Theory." As a young teenager who's only interests in life were the pursuit of gaining trophies on PS3, Derby County and peeking at lads magazine's thinking they were the Holy Grail, I took no interest in anything that the film tried to teach me. Little did I know that Cumberbatch's performance as the professor got him nominated for a BAFTA and put him on the map as an upcoming TV star. Since then he has become in my eyes the strongest all round actor in Hollywood today. He has a captivating screen presence and an engaging voice which is hard to ignore. His acting skills are phenominal and they are on show in this excellent biopic.
Benedict Cumberbatch's performance in this film is staggering. From the moment the film kicks off to the very end you can't help but become invested in his character. His portrayal as this quirky, unique character grips onto you as he takes you for a complex ride through his difficult life. I couldn't imagine anybody else playing his immensely complicated person yet Cumberbatch uses his talents to full effect not necessarily to show off and be flash but instead to be gentle, delicate, humorous and heart warming. You can't help but feel pure sympathy for Alan Turing and by the end of the film manages to fill a tear to the engrossed eyes. Pure brilliance. The performances don't stop there either. Keira Knightly, who plays Turing's love interest Joan, manages to pull out a strong performance even though the material she was given wasn't up on the same level which really impressed me. Matthew Goode, Charles Dance and Mark Strong all gave solid performances and brought a good level of humour and charismatic charm to the film, A special mention as well to Alex Lawther who plays a young Turing. He was awesome in his small role and he's one to watch out for. Great stuff! The direction is flawless at times and it was fascinating to see the film from an outsider's point of view of a deeply British historical moment. Morten Tyldum found a tone that was melancholic yet managed to celebrate the achievements of this great man who ultimately shortened the war and saved many innocent lives.
What unfortunately let the film down slightly was the script. It was pretty bland dialogue at times and without the help of a superb cast glossing it over, could have been picked apart to the death by critics. It made Keira Knightly's character look like a non existent female sidekick with no substance. I felt like the actors were at times battling to try and give quality performances against the boring material they were given. Thankfully it's not too noticeable, I'm just being picky!
The Imitation Game is a delightful biopic and Cumberbatch's masterful performance should land him an Oscar nomination at the very least. He and the rest of the cast deliver acting at the highest standard and a story which makes me proud to be British. An engrossing drama which you should definitely give a try.
8/10
