Movie Review: ‘The Imitation Game’

Somewhere in the world there is a list of misunderstood historical figures that Benedict Cumberbatch should portray, and someone is slowly but surely crossing off each name. Some of these men are household names, like Stephen Hawking and Vincent Van Gogh.

Now Cumberbatch takes on Alan Turing, a master cryptanalyst for the British government during World War II. Turing’s efforts were kept hidden from the public for decades.

Saying that Cumberbatch is the best part of the Turing biopic “The Imitation Game” is an understatement, but one that, through its deeply emotional and occasionally thrilling cracks, begs the question: To what extent can a period piece rely on its actors and still live up to expectations?

First, there have to be some facts, and “The Imitation Game” is heavy on those. During the darkest days of the second world war, Winston Churchill strongly supported the creation of a team that could solve the Enigma code, Nazi Germany’s secret language. With a handful of other logicians, Turing was brought to the Government Code and Cypher School in Bletchley Park, where he planned to devise one of the world’s first computer systems to crack the supposedly unbeatable secret.

Needless to say, Turing won. But “The Imitation Game” focuses more on the prodigal man’s life than on his single greatest accomplishment. Director Morten Tyldum jumps back and forth between Turing’s childhood as an outcast schoolboy (Alex Lawther) with only one real friend, and Turing’s Allied work as an outcast adult mathematician. It isn’t until he meets the capable code breaker Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) that he really begins building relationships with those around him.

Tyldum milks the sadness of Turing’s story as much as possible, especially postwar when Turing was convicted of homosexual acts, a now outdated British offense. It’s during these scenes that Cumberbatch is at his peak performance, letting Turing succumb to the pressures that drive him out of his own mind, where he feels safest. But “The Imitation Game” doesn’t try to sell itself as a movie about love – it tries to sell itself as a political espionage thriller, a fast-paced, heart-pounding race against time to save the nation.

To its credit, the movie does have those moments. Cumberbatch’s Turing makes his expected revelations that quickly drive the plot to an exciting Alexandre Desplat-composed score. Even in the quieter moments, Turing is snarky, able to keep pace with his uptight commander (Charles Dance) in conversations that are unexpectedly funny, showcasing Cumberbatch’s diverse acting abilities. By melding all these exciting ideas together while lamenting a horrible situation, Tyldum’s work turns messy.

There are a few other good qualities that save the film’s constant tonal shifts from turning its prestige sour. Aside from Cumberbatch, the rest of the cast members fare nicely with their own performances, despite none of them reaching genuine-standout level. Both Mark Strong, as intimidating secret intelligence chief Stewart Menzies, and Rory Kinnear, as an insightful detective, have a stage presence about them. So does Knightley, and gracefully so, but a lot of her character’s importance is portrayed in the film’s latter half, giving her a slim amount of time to shine during the most compelling scenes.

“The Imitation Game” is also meticulously crafted, production-wise. Bletchley Park looks and feels like a place buried away under British surveillance – not drab or unappealing, but cozy and stark with symbols of the times. Turing and his associates, dressed in 1940s coats and vests, line the walls with their plans for the Enigma-breaking machine in the candlelit, redone factory they’ve harbored in for their wartime efforts.

Watching Cumberbatch play the most poignant role of his life is a marvelous thing, but “The Imitation Game” tries to be a few too many things at once. At its core, it’s about Alan Turing, a mysterious man who sparked a sense of discovery and innovation around the world. Due to his tragic story, Turing’s impact may never be fully recognized, and Tyldum and his peers understand that. “The Imitation Game” is a bold step in fixing that and in seeing Turing as the real unbreakable enigma that he was.

– Sebastian Torrelio