The Imitation Game (2014) - Movie Review
Its a truly fascinating film at its heart, focusing as more of a character piece on Alan Turing as opposed to just telling historical events, and this is where it excels. Turing himself is narrating sections of the film, in fact explaining the events of Bletchley Park and his childhood to a detective in 1951, and basing his entire narration around the fascinating Imitation Game devised by Turing is a brilliant way to tell the story from his point of view, especially after so many people believe him to be inhuman throughout the film.
Benedict Cumberbatch is absolutely brilliant as Alan Turing, making what could have been an irritating or incredibly rude character come to life as a likeable and sympathetic genius, albeit with his own personal problems. One of the best scenes in the film is where Turing gives the other code-breakers each an apple and tries to tell a joke. It serves little to no relevance to the plot, isn't part of social and historical context to the film but instead gives Turing a little character moment, once again reinforcing that this is a character piece instead of a motion picture history lesson of the events of Bletchley Park. Cumberbatch has become famous for playing these troubled genius characters, but this is certainly his best performance to date. He certainly focuses on his mannerisms, speech and movements for the role, and instead of just being Benedict Cumberbatch, he becomes Alan Turing in the film.
Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance and Mark Strong are excellent in the film, but work very well as supporting actors. Cumberbatch is given the spotlight in the film, so as to focus on Turing, but the other characters are well-developed.
The film is very well paced, even if the ending fizzles out a little, and with superb direction, good editing and a great screenplay, The Imitation Game doesn't drag on or feel to short. Its an interesting story excellently told over the 114 minutes. There are so many complex layers to the events that its difficult for the film to cram everything in, but it captures the pressure and the importance of these people. One of the best scenes is where Turing explains that they cannot save a ship as it would reveal the existence of Christopher - Turing's Enigma-cracking computer - and thus those people would have to die. Its a moving scene is provides an interesting glimpse into Turing's moral code and how it compares to others'.
Alexandre Desplat's score is brilliant though, providing an interesting and subtley-placed score, using sounds like a ticking clock for the characters going against the clock and using quiet motives where needed to convey mood in a way that other composers would have over-done. Desplat is a truly fantastic composer and this film's soundtrack (which I am listening to as I write this) is something truly special and fits the film perfectly.
British films usually have an excellent historical production design and The Imitation Game is no exception. Bletchley Park and Christopher look great, the costumes are all well-designed and the sound design is excellent. You feel like you are watching these events from the 1920's to the 1950's.
Overall, The Imitation Game is an example of British film-making at its very best, with superb performances, a brilliant score, great production design, excellent pacing and a fantastic screenplay.
The Imitation Game is available now on DVD and Blu-ray.
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