Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode
Directed by: Morton Tyldum
Rated: PG 13
Running time: 1 hr 54 mins
The Weinstein Company
Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars
1951. A note is passed to a man behind a desk. “Alan Turing has been robbed,” it reads. Moments later, a couple of London’s finest enter the premises to find Mr. Turing (Cumberbatch) cleaning up. He is very curt with them, assures them nothing has been stolen and asks them to leave. Curious, one of the detectives (Rory Kinnear) begins to investigate Turing. The secret he uncovers is nothing compared to the one Turing has kept for a decade!
The second of two World War II films to open today, “The Imitation Game” is one of those great thrillers where, even though you know the outcome, you’re still on the edge of your seat. A brilliant mathematician, Turing is recruited by England’s MI6 – in a funny exchange, it is pointed out that England only has FIVE levels of Military Intelligence. The reply – “Exactly.” He and a group of code breakers are charged with cracking the ENIGMA machine, the device with which the Nazis send out their orders. A series of letters that creates a code, with the meaning of those letters changing every day, the ENIGMA machine is the deadliest weapon the Nazis have. With a possibility of 159,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that’s 159 million-million-million) settings, the Allies have been working around the clock trying to solve the code. Unfortunately, once midnight comes, they have to start over. The machine has been re-set and the previous day’s work is now worthless. Turing begins to devise a machine that he feels will not only know each day’s setting but progress further. The first digital computer.
As Turing, Benedict Cumberbatch gives a performance sure to be remembered come Oscar nomination time. Cumberbatch manages to make the seemingly unlikable man endearing. If I were to make a modern day reference, I would compare him to Sheldon, the character Jim Parsons plays on “The Big Bang Theory.” Humor and sarcasm are often lost on him but, as the smartest guy in the room (and one who knows he is) it really doesn’t matter. Turing is also gay, a choice that could land you in prison in the 1940s. Smarmy and secretly gay does not make a fun guy to hang out with. Through flashbacks (and flash-forwards) we learn the life lessons that have made Turing the way he is. Cumberbatch is assisted by his supporting cast, most notably Knightley as a female code breaker, Goode and Alan Leach as members of Turing’s team, Charles Dance as the man in charge of Turing’s project and Mark Strong as the head of MI6.
The direction is tight, keeping the story moving smoothly while constantly building on the suspense. Will Turing’s machine work? And if so, when? Half the fun in waiting is spending time with this incredible film. Sometimes the best things are worth waiting for.