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#101 - The Imitation Game
Morten Tyldum, 2014
Based on the true story of Alan Turing, a professor of mathematics who is employed to work on deciphering Enigma, the Nazis' incredibly elaborate code-making machine.
How much should your existing knowledge base play into how much you appreciate a film that involves those subjects? I was already fairly aware of Alan Turing's story (chiefly his contributions to the birth of computer science and also his tragic early death) and was definitely interested in seeing a film based on his life, but it also seems a little unfortunate that the man should be played by Benedict Cumberbatch. It seems like an unfortunate casting choice considering how the film's version of Turing displays so many signs of being on the autism spectrum while Cumberbatch himself has made some less-than-sensitive comments about autism in the past. Stuff like that lingers in the back of my mind as I try to watch and judge the film on its own merits, but even if I were to look past such things then I'd still think of The Imitation Game as another serviceable but not spectacular true-story film.
Despite my misgivings about Cumberbatch as a person, he turns in an alright performance as Turing, though the tendency to play off Turing's more socially awkward qualities as amusing quirks doesn't exactly work. Matthew Goode makes for a decent enough rival to Turing and Keira Knightley has a solid turn as the Enigma team's sole female member who ends up being Turing's best friend, while Charles Dance gets the chance to channel Tywin Lannister with gusto as an especially harsh and demanding naval commander. The cast at least manages to cover for a discovery narrative that's once again built on dramatically sudden breakthroughs and tensions between its bizarre, intelligent protagonist and obstructive, narrow-minded antagonists. The story does veer into some interesting territory when
Of course, that is one of many sub-plots that are brought up to generate some tension only to be resolved within mere minutes of their being introduced, which I'm not sure is good for the film or not. There's also the sheer lack of logic in having a post-war framing story where Turing, having been arrested for homosexual conduct, ends up relaying his involvement in a top-secret government project to the decidedly unremarkable detective investigating his case. Knowing what happens to Turing ahead of time (even before the film's closing titles so kindly inform you) does rob the film's final scenes of their emotional impact, but you're pretty much used to that sort of inconsistency of quality by the time the film ends. At least it's a decent enough yarn that's rendered fairly competently, external quarrels with the material notwithstanding.
Morten Tyldum, 2014
Based on the true story of Alan Turing, a professor of mathematics who is employed to work on deciphering Enigma, the Nazis' incredibly elaborate code-making machine.
How much should your existing knowledge base play into how much you appreciate a film that involves those subjects? I was already fairly aware of Alan Turing's story (chiefly his contributions to the birth of computer science and also his tragic early death) and was definitely interested in seeing a film based on his life, but it also seems a little unfortunate that the man should be played by Benedict Cumberbatch. It seems like an unfortunate casting choice considering how the film's version of Turing displays so many signs of being on the autism spectrum while Cumberbatch himself has made some less-than-sensitive comments about autism in the past. Stuff like that lingers in the back of my mind as I try to watch and judge the film on its own merits, but even if I were to look past such things then I'd still think of The Imitation Game as another serviceable but not spectacular true-story film.
Despite my misgivings about Cumberbatch as a person, he turns in an alright performance as Turing, though the tendency to play off Turing's more socially awkward qualities as amusing quirks doesn't exactly work. Matthew Goode makes for a decent enough rival to Turing and Keira Knightley has a solid turn as the Enigma team's sole female member who ends up being Turing's best friend, while Charles Dance gets the chance to channel Tywin Lannister with gusto as an especially harsh and demanding naval commander. The cast at least manages to cover for a discovery narrative that's once again built on dramatically sudden breakthroughs and tensions between its bizarre, intelligent protagonist and obstructive, narrow-minded antagonists. The story does veer into some interesting territory when
WARNING: "The Imitation Game" spoilers below
the team finally manages to crack Enigma's code, but Turing realises that they can't react to every decoded message in case it tips off the Germans, which does lead to tensions within the team.
Of course, that is one of many sub-plots that are brought up to generate some tension only to be resolved within mere minutes of their being introduced, which I'm not sure is good for the film or not. There's also the sheer lack of logic in having a post-war framing story where Turing, having been arrested for homosexual conduct, ends up relaying his involvement in a top-secret government project to the decidedly unremarkable detective investigating his case. Knowing what happens to Turing ahead of time (even before the film's closing titles so kindly inform you) does rob the film's final scenes of their emotional impact, but you're pretty much used to that sort of inconsistency of quality by the time the film ends. At least it's a decent enough yarn that's rendered fairly competently, external quarrels with the material notwithstanding.