'The Imitation Game' - Review

From director Morten Tyldum (responsible for breakout Scandinavian hit Headhunters) comes The Imitation Game, the story of mathematician Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) and how he came to break the German Enigma code during World War II. Relayed by Turing during his brief imprisonment in 1951, the story wends its way through the years of research, trials and tribulations of war and his own troubled childhood to build a portrait of the man himself and the importance of his work to the war and the modern world.

Everything in the film hangs upon the central performance, and my initial concern was that due to his extraordinary amount of work in recent years, there would be very little that was refreshing or interesting in Cumberbatch’s turn as the tortured genius. Certainly within the initial to-ing and fro-ing between Turing and the supercilious naval commander (Charles Dance), my worries seemed well-founded, but as the story develops and we are given greater insight into the mind of our leading man, there were many moments where I completely forgot I was watching an actor giving a performance, and that itself is an achievement any actor can be proud of.

Keira Knightley – in the greater of her two current multiplex roles – is given very little to do and is saddled with the majority of the films’ somewhat riper dialogue, but exceeds the boundaries of her character and gives a very fine turn, as does Matthew Goode, unsurprising as the two have done the posh, stiff-upper-lip British roles in the past and have polished them to a tee. Rory Kinnear as the interrogator to whom Turing relays his life story is also on startlingly great but understated and criminally underused form.

Though a large part of the thriller element is lost, due to the fact that we all know that the code was broken and the war was won, but the film is paced very well and a good balance is found between the development of the Enigma, the group effort of winning the war and the study of Turing as an individual. There is a surprising spring of humour throughout, the aforementioned scene between Cumberbatch and Dance feeling almost Python-esque, juxtaposed with scenes of moral ambiguity and fear that don’t feel jarring at any point.

Yes, the Alexandre Desplat score is – as usual – overdone, and some of the dialogue is a little ripe, but there’s more than enough to admire here: Cumberbatch is terrific in the central role, the supporting cast are great, and what the film achieves above all else – mainly in its final moments – is conveying the tortured soul of a real hero. The sense of unfairness is gut-punchingly apparent, as is the urging of acceptance.

★★★½☆