The Imitation Game — Blue Fairy Film Blog

Courtesy of The Weinstein Company, StudioCanal, Black Bear Pictures, and Bristol Automative

Another in an epoch of movies centered on the Allies taking on the Nazis, this film is actually pretty unique for its sub-genre, familiar yet unabashedly original. Alan Turing was a seminal figure in world of code breaking and was the father of modern computers. He was a man who would go on to create the Turing test and create computation. Turing was an oppressed gay man, a secretive figure, and a genius in the field of mathematics. Here is his story, broken up into different periods of his life, making for a complex portrait of a man who spent the bulk of his life unknown. Choosing Benedict Cumberbatch for this film was beyond perfect, and having director Morten Tyldum at the helm was inspired, leading to this being a revered film.

There just aren’t enough films dealing with the LGBT community. While many marginalized and underrepresented peoples are still struggling to be seen compared to LGBT characters, that doesn’t mean that we always get complex, three dimensional LGBT characters. Alan Turing had a life that was beyond intense, one that was actually very inspiring to many people. Add to that that he was a closeted gay man, in a time that would imprison him for his sexual orientation, and you get a complex portrait of a genius. It’s heartbreaking to think that a man that saved countless lives, and helped his country win an unwinnable war was later pushed by his government into a possible early death.

Every performance is eerie in its secrecy. Cumberbatch, as I have said, is enigmatic as the mathematician turned secret agent. He has many issues with socialization, as he tries to hide a secret that could ruin him. This lends to suspicion, marginalization, and prejudice from his own government. Keira Knightley portrays Joan, a woman who isn’t given much credence because of her gender. Her intelligence earns her a spot at Bletchley Park, where she helps a group of colleagues (all men) crack the Enigma Code. She and Turing have a relationship that ranges from mentor/mentee to a deep friendship. It’s unclear however whether Turing and Joan had a relationship that was eventually mended as they did have a disagreement about Joan’s place at Bletchley later in their years in residence.

While this film does justice to a man that needed his story told, a lot of this film takes drastic liberties. The actual machine (“Christopher”) didn’t look or work the same as the original machine. Liberties were taken with the story, especially the scene where the mathematicians keep a young colleague from warning of an oncoming attack, to keep the Nazis in the dark. The fact that he was a marathon runner is omitted, though he is shown running. There are just moments that are completely imagined, and to learn of that fact, after seeing such a good movie, really put me off liking this for a longest time. I have come to grips with this fact recently, because we all know that films can’t be blamed for every historical inaccuracy.

There are some amazing facets to this film, but others this year tried new things, and told more interesting stories. Turing is one of the best subjects for a biopic, but he can’t compete with crazed bird men, twelve years of childhood, and sociopathic housewives. While I highly recommend this film, I don’t believe it’s in the same league as some of its