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IT remains a great British tragedy that one of the nation’s truest heroes led a life of utter secrecy, with his legacy only being celebrated decades after his name was indignantly dragged through the mud due to his ‘personal preferences’.
Of course, I am referring to Alan Turing, the now-legendary mathematician and cryptanalyst who pioneered the study of computer science and was a key figured in cracking the Enigma code used by the Germans in World War II.
The Imitation Game is a fascinating adaption of Turing’s life story, which frequently jumps across three time periods. The first is Turing’s early days at Sherborne School in Dorset, where a combination of suffering recurrent bullying and his frustration at maths class being too easy leads him down the path of cryptography.
The main focus of the film, naturally, is the time spent at the top-secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, where Turing agonisingly attempts to break the Engima with the electro-mechanical bombe machine (poignantly dubbed ‘Christopher’ in the film for dramatic purposes).
The third strand is post-war Manchester, where Turing is facing a conviction for gross indecency, a charge he freely admits to but has no government support to bail him out thanks to the ultra-classified status of his work.
Such a short summary does not do the movie justice, as it’s a gripping yarn that flicks between the time periods with perfect timing. Scenes get a long time to breathe and engross us in the action, while the switches in focus are frequent enough that the audience has not forgotten where we were up to in that particular time period, but not so rapidly that it becomes jarring and hard to keep up with.
With the film centred on such an important figure, the script needs strong glue to hold it together and Cumberbatch delivers with aplomb. It’s extremely rare for me to express quick-fire reactions of such stature, but this truly is one of the finest acting performances I’ve ever seen. It’s certainly not an exaggeration on my part to suggest that his Turing will be considered as iconic as Peter O’Toole’s Lawrence of Arabia, Ben Kingsley’s Gandhi or Daniel Day Lewis’ Lincoln in future generations.
His broad range of emotions, his strongly-suggestive undertones of Asperger’s Syndrome and his overall delivery are captivating. Cumberbatch is frequently labelled as the latest in a string of ‘Oh, he’s the one that’s in everything these days’ actors, but with performances like this, that’s a blessing rather than a curse.
The supporting cast pull their weight too. Keira Knightley might be a little too pretty as Joan Clarke (who by all accounts was described as a plain, dumpy woman), another worker at Bletchley Park who has a special attachment to Turing, but the contrast of her happy-go-lucky, bubbly nature and Turing’s anxious, determined portrayal works really well.
Meanwhile, Charles Dance (unfortunately for him, henceforth to be known as ‘Tywin Lannister’ until the end of his days) is as brooding and imposing as ever in his role as Bletchley’s Commander Denniston, with every word dripping with authority.
It’s obvious that some aspects of the film have been ‘Hollywood-ised’ to increase the drama, especially with the emphasis on Turing practically winning the war and cracking the code himself at the expense of his team’s help. However, this lends the film its ‘thriller’ quality rather than a turgid regurgitation of a Turing biography or his Wikipedia page. Personally, I’d take a gripping film with a basis in historical fact over something strictly aimed at not upsetting purists.
I must also single out praise to the Bahraini film censors. Often they are a source of my utmost ire and earn a volley of suppressed expletives during a screening, when seemingly the most innocuous scenes are butchered with bloodthirsty barbarism. However, they mercifully left The Imitation Game unedited, with all mentions and revelations of Turing’s ‘private habits’ for all to see and even subtitled. I was honestly expecting to see half a film, so it was a pleasant surprise.
I can’t recommend The Imitation Game highly enough. It’s a wonderful film with exceptional performances and outstanding pacing that will have you laughing, crying and engaged throughout. Oscar nominations are surely on their way, and you should be on your way to your nearest cinema right now.
