Paul and I finally made it to see the Imitation Game on Sunday. We had heard the buzz - it won the top award at the Toronto International Film Festival, but we never made it to the theatre until it was released widely on Friday. This is two weeks in a row that we went to the movies - a bit of a record for us - it is a shame that allof the good films seem to be released all at once.
Yes, only I would complain about an embarassment of riches.
"The Imitation Game" tells the story of Alan Turing, the genius mathematician who spearheaded a team of cryptologists assembled by the British military in World War II. Their mission: Crack the Nazis’ unbreakable code, Enigma.
The Brits have one of the Nazis’ Enigma machines, which turns written commands into incomprehensible nonsense that can only be deciphered if one knows the machine’s settings — a combination of letters that the Germans change every midnight.
This is a movie about secrets, not surprises. It combines historical fact (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) with the dynamics of a thriller, since the lives of Allied multitudes depend on wresting intel advantage from the Nazis.
Of course they would cast Benedict Cumberbatch, famous for his potrayal of the detective in Sherlock, as brilliant social outcast Turing, the English mathematician belatedly credited with cracking Hitler’s code and, by the way, also launching the computer revolution. As thanks for his efforts, he was hounded unto death after the war for his homosexuality, which was then illegal in Britain.
The director takes a risk by wrapping the 1940s Enigma quest within a postwar drama, set in 1951, that downshifts the larger story into a more intimate and personal one. Turing is being investigated by a determined cop in Manchester, whose suspicions that the math professor might be a Russian spy lead into a witch hunt over Turing’s sexual orientation. In the midst of all of this are a series of flashbacks to a young Turing at school which serve to move the story on or provided subtext.
The story of Alan Turing and his contribution to the Allies victory in World War II is so compelling that it really doesn’t need an added layer of subtext or meaning. However truth is stranger than fiction and here Turing’s personal journey, after his work for his country is finished, is sad and a glaring indictment on anti-gay laws and bias of 20th century Great Britain. For those who think gay rights are not important or that gay people have all the same rights as everyone else, watch The Imitation Game. For those who are interested in seeing a great war film without any battle scenes, see The Imitation Game. For those who want to see a story of great perseverance and discovery, see The Imitation Game. For those who just want to see a very good movie, see The Imitation Game. Lastly, for those who want to see how NOT TO TREAT a national hero, see The Imitation Game.
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