Review – The Imitation Game

The movie industry loves making World War II films. But as last year’s unsuccessful Monuments Men showed us, it’s getting increasingly difficult to find stories to tell about the war that feel original and captivate audiences.

The Imitation Game has certainly found a unique, true war story worth telling – the story of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), a brilliant mathematician who secretly cracked Germany’s Enigma code, which historians estimate helped end the war at least two years early and saved 14 million lives. Turing’s story, which was classified for 50 years, is one that is worth telling. And this film, based on Andrew Hodges’ Alan Turing: The Enigma, tells it with style, injecting charm and humor into the tale without shying away from the tragic moments.

Cumberbatch is perfectly cast as Turing, who is a brilliant outcast who has trouble making friends or getting along with coworkers. Initially, the British government and his fellow codebreakers don’t want to work with him, but must begrudgingly coexist with Turing because of his amazing intellect. Anyone who has seen Cumberbatch on Sherlock knows the part is right up his alley.

Kiera Knightley is also great as Joan Clarke, a codebreaker Turing hires for her genius intellect after she completes his entry exam in record time. Hiring a woman to work alongside the male mathematicians was unheard of at the time, but the socially-awkward Turing was more concerned with gathering the right people for the job than with fulfilling societal norms. (He goes so far as to lie to her parents about her working alongside men in order to get their blessing.) What’s great is that it’s actually Clarke who softens Turing and gets the other mathematicians to like him and want to work with him.

The film focuses on three different phases of Turing’s life – his days being picked on at boarding school, his time at Bletchley Park breaking Enigma and his life post-war, when he was investigated for gross indecency for being homosexual.

These three eras end up having intriguing parallels. Turing’s stint at boarding school introduces him to Christopher Morcom (Jack Bannon), a fellow outcast who first introduces him to cryptology. Turing’s analytical attempts to decipher social norms reveal why Turing took to codebreaking so naturally. (And he first begins writing codes in order to pass notes to Christopher in class that no one else can read.)

In all three stories, we see a larger parallel in Turing living a secret life. Alan and Christopher have to hide the true nature of their friendship. At Bletchley Park, Turing must hide the true nature of his work. (And, in order to keep Joan from getting sent back home, the two of them must fake a romantic relationship to keep her parents happy.) And in his post-war life, not only must he conceal his work in ending the war, but he must hide his homosexuality from the authorities. (And tragically, you have to imagine that if England knew his contributions to end the war, the courts might have let the indecency charges slide.)

Alan’s story is a tragic one. It’s heartbreaking to think that someone who would have been an outcast anyway due to his eccentric personality (which is likely what made him such a brilliant mathematician and codebreaker) was further persecuted for his sexual orientation. It’s great that this overlooked genius is finally getting recognition for his works. (He didn’t just crack the code, he created one of the world’s first computers to do so.)

All three stories are woven together expertly. They are all well-paced and engaging in their own right and when viewed together they all reveal things about the other phases of his life. And all of the stories have moments of comedy and heartbreak.

I highly recommend everyone watch the film. Whether you are a World War II history buff or simply someone who likes a good puzzle, you’ll find something in the film to enjoy. And Turig’s story is definitely one that deserves to be told.

Written by Joel Murphy. If you enjoy his reviews, he also writes a weekly pop culture column called Murphy’s Law, which you can find here. You can contact Joel at murphyslaw@hobotrashcan.com.