Compelling storytelling and strong performances make The Imitation Game an enthralling movie, writes Debbie Lynn Elias
As you are reading this very column, be it online or in print, one of the people responsible for this luxury is the very man celebrated in The Imitation Game – Alan Turing. Although director Morten Tyldum focuses on Turing’s life in the context of WWII and the genius of his mathematical and codebreaking skills, it is thanks to Turing’s work for the Allies during this time at Bletchley Park, the Government Code and Cypher School, that an early version of the device we now know as “the computer” was born.
Working from a script by first time scribe Graham Moore, the Norwegian Tyldum ( for whom this movie is his English-speaking directorial debut), rivets us with historical and personal intrigue, all brought to life thanks to one of the most masterful performances of the year by Benedict Cumberbatch in the central role of Turing.
Opening in 1952 England, we first meet Turing as he is being investigated and subsequently arrested on charges of “gross indecency.” 1952 England meant homosexuality was as much closeted and secreted as Turing’s codebreaking in 1939, and to be discovered or caught in the act, meant jail and/or medical castration. Turing’s story unfolds as he tells a rapt police detective his entire history (Thus employing the very helpful technique of voice-over narration in this particular instance.), starting with 1939 shortly after England’s entrance into WWII.
At just 27 years of age Turing was already the best of the best. As a mathematician, he was unparalleled, and had been since his early days at boarding school. But the war wasn’t going well for Britain or the Allies, who were always one step behind the Nazi war machine thanks to an unbreakable German code known as “Enigma” which encoded all military transmissions, thus constantly hampering British intelligence operations. As for the government’s crack team of cryptologists, none had the skill to break Enigma. So it was no wonder that on applying to Bletchley, Turing was immediately put into service.
But Turing’s social skills were anything but sociable and if he was being graded for how well he plays with others, that would be his one failing grade. Alienating everyone on his team, but for MI6 agent Stewart Menzies, Turing is relegated to playing second-fiddle to the alpha male of the group, Hugh Alexander. Dissatisfied with the pecking order, Turing appeals directly to Winston Churchill, pleading a case for his superior skills. And Churchill goes for it, putting Turing in charge of the team.
Not just content with being the man in charge and able to focus on his idea of creating a machine that will mathematically break the code, and needing his own allies within, Turing hires more men – and one woman, Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley). Impressed with Clarke, and a bit perturbed when her problem solving and cryptology skills are far better than even his own, Joan begins to serve another purpose; as buffer between Turing and Alexander, eventually bringing the boys all together to work as one; but for how long and at what potential cost?
With the clock ticking and Allied losses heavy, Turing and company try to keep the military wolves at bay as they move ever closer to making Turing’s machine (dubbed “Christopher” after his childhood love) the long dreamed of codebreaker.
Let’s just say it now: Benedict Cumberbatch. Oscar nomination please! Like co-stars Mark Strong and Matthew Goode, all three are custom made for cloak-and-dagger roles. Each delivers enigmatic performances that challenge the audience to think and look below the surface for the truth of each real life character portrayed. As intelligence head Stewart Menzies Strong really shines, especially in his cat-and-mouse interactions with Charles Dance’s Denniston.
When it comes to chess champion turned codebreaker Hugh Alexander, Goode delivers one of the best performances of his career. He plays Alexander with suspicion, defiance and arrogance, but then completely shifts tone providing a wonderful emotional arc.
Keira Knightley is the glue in this mix and the tether between the world/society and Alan Turing. Knightley also has some very powerful scenes which she delivers with so much conviction and passion as to almost be frightening.
I admit that I was captivated, absolutely riveted to the story behind cracking Enigma – which I knew a little bit about but nowhere near enough – but to see it play out with such intricacy and intensity, simply enthralling. Tyldum and Moore steep us in history and information. Thanks to meticulous production design, there is very specific attention to the electrical detail and intricacies of the schematics for “Christopher” and the cloak and dagger nature of the very buildings in which the codebreakers worked and in which “Christopher” was housed”, all of which elevated the story to an immersive experience.
Problematic, however, is the final act of the film, most notably the last few minutes. The audience knows way before the “big reveal” that Turing is gay thanks to Cumberbatch’s performance, which is imbued with stereotypical shadings of the day that he executes eloquently. However, when the film returns to the 1952 present and the criminal charges for sexual perversion against Turing, title cards pop on screen taking us out of the historical impact of Turing and Enigma, creating a desire and need to see more about the “hidden” Turing. In those final moments, the historical impact of the film from the standpoint of Enigma and the war feels undermined, and the discussion on homosexuality of the day feels shortchanged.
Enigma: Directed by Morten Tyldum. Written by Graham Moore, based on the book “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges. Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Allen Leech, Matthew Beard, Charles Dance, Mark Strong. 114 minutes. Rated: PG-13
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