Here’s what you need to know about this hotly-anticipated, awards-headed little British drama. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) as Brit code-breaking super-genius Alan Turing and his role in winning the Second World War; it is super cute in places yet terribly dramatic in others; it co-stars Keira Knightley; the excellently-named Cumberbatch is surely gonna be Oscar-nommed for his portrayal of the mathematically-minded but socially-awkward Turing; and it puts right the god-awful 2000 U-571 which posited that the Americans were responsible for the capture of the famed German code machine.
The film tells via flashback Turin’s role in defying the Enigma machine – a German-created device that allowed the Nazis to send messages to one another without the Allies being able to unravel them. Turing designed a machine – a prototype computer! – which cracked this ‘impossible to decipher’ code and was instrumental in winning the war against the Nazis.
But the film is far from a straight-up thriller. Turing’s life was not exactly a happy straight forward one, as he battled inner demons about his intellect and place in society and fought to hide his homosexuality which was illegal at the time.
To say more would be to spoil the film for those who don’t know about Turing’s life, safe to say it is by turns a humorous, engaging, thought-provoking, and tragic tale. Highly recommended, and a pretty safe bet to pick up some recognition come awards season in the new year.
The Imitation Game is out November 14 courtesy of StudioCanal.
