The Imitation Game
No, it is not a movie about mimes. Set in 1939, “The Imitation Game” is a historical drama that focuses on an Oxford cryptology professor Alan Turing and his role in securing the Allies’ victory in WWII. Played by Benedict Cumberbatch, Turing captivates the audience and paints the essences and the life of a fragile yet cocky genius.
Throughout the war, the Nazis utilized a radio encryption technology named “Enigma” that allowed Germany to communicate secretively and gain the upper hand in the war. To combat “Enigma” by deciphering the Germans’ radio-encryptic code, the British Army’s graying commander-in-chief hires Turing and assigns him to a secret unit of the British Intelligence specifically created to win the war.
Historical accuracy was sacrificed to heighten cinematic drama and the movie’s fabrications seemed sometimes necessary and unavoidable, and often contentious.
Turing initially has a turbulent beginning with the rest of the team, seemingly leading the team into dissolution. Eventually, however, Turing befriends the rest of his teammates with the help of Joan Clarke—one of Turing’s recruits played by Keira Knightley—and creates a “technology to beat technology,” an “electrically-powered, digital brain:” the world’s first proto-computer.
The plot, a historically renowned narrative, is not hard to predict. Turing’s proto-computer—“Christopher”—ultimately succeeds in deciphering the daily-changing code of the Germans’ “Enigma” and Turing aids the Allies in defeating the Nazis.
Historical accuracy was sacrificed to heighten cinematic drama and the movie’s fabrications seemed sometimes necessary and unavoidable, and often contentious. For example, the movie suggests that Turing maintained a relationship with Joan Clarke, cloaking Turing’s homosexuality. The strategic placement of the brother of a key member of the unit on board a vessel that needed to be sacrificed was another cringe worthy inaccuracy, as well as the greatly disproportionate portrayal of Turing’s proto-computer.
Therefore, if you’re exclusively fond of an excitingly unpredictable plot or if you disagree with sacrificing historical accuracy for the sake of cinematic engagement in nonfiction films, do not watch “The Imitation Game.” It should neither be watched for the story of the motion picture nor be sought in order to garner historical knowledge; rather, it should be appreciated for the cringingly believable acting and poignantly directed cinematography, for these two elements outshine the perhaps unexciting narrative.
Cumberbatch was extraordinary as usual. He successfully captures the complexities of the protagonist; Cumberbatch keeps Turing’s real drives and feelings so inexplicably cloaked that the audience question Turing’s real identity and motives incessantly. Child star Alex Lawther was brilliant as young Turing and impressive in matching and connecting with Cumberbatch’s depiction of an insular, insecure Turing.
Knightly was commendable as well. Although sometimes the film showed disparities in the real Clarke and the movie’s Clarke, Knightley’s performance highlighted the humanity of Clarke.
Ultimately, “The Imitation Game” is an accentuation of Turing’s extraordinary achievements, a commemoration of a perhaps unsung hero of the great war.
The film is a commendation of a controversial historical figure as an international hero.