The Imitation Game (2014) review - Movie Thoughts (Chapter 33) 💼

Hello everyone,

Today's films was an absolute gem. My brother and my dad had watched this one a while ago and I think we even own the DVD somewhere in our stacks, but I had not seen it until very recently. It's absolutely brilliant, and it's one of those films that made me remember why I love cinema in the first place - it tells those stories you would probably go your whole life knowing nothing about otherwise....

(**disclaimer: the following thoughts are 100% my opinion, you do not have to agree with them - film is inherently subjective and everyone's perspective is valid! Also, there are probably spoilers in the following, read at your own risk. Now onto some thoughts....**)

(**2nd disclaimer: this one's over my self-imposed 800 word review limit, but the film was just so good I needed a little more waffle room. There's always an exception to the rule isn't there....**)

Source: IMDB

A World War II thriller from the perspective of the geniuses who gifted the Allies victory through their perseverance and genius brainpower, The Imitation Game was constantly juggling stories and themes within a moving, tightly packaged piece of cinema. The film resembled a puzzle in itself; piecing together concurrent stories of war folklore and a man whose contributions to Britain were repaid with a debilitating criminal conviction. During Britain’s fight against the Nazi’s in Europe, English mathematical prodigy Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) attempts to crack the infamously unbreakable German Enigma Code alongside a team of skilled code breakers whilst hiding a personal secret. Nominated for eight Academy Awards (Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Production Design and Original Score), director Morten Tyldum crafted an inspirational, emotional journey of tension and tragedy with slick and clever visual storytelling to keep audiences intrigued from beginning to end.

This film’s magnetism was all-encompassing; grounded by Norwegian sensation Tyldum’s cleverly poetic and raw direction. His wonderfully balanced and emotive imaging of Turing’s story completely sucked viewers into the tension whether they will break the code or not; anxious to never look away lest you miss crucial details. The mechanical turning of the numerous wheels on Turing’s wonder machine ‘Christopher’ developed the suspense; up to where silence equalled euphoric success. The moment they cracked it was feverish and disbelieving with a resolute beat of triumph before the quick injection of another vessel of tension with a moral conundrum; how do they ensure the Germans never find out? Seamlessly blending the tension of problem-solving with the conspiracy of success and the emotional tolls complicating team relations was a tall order executed with a self-assured eye for powerful imagery.

Graham Moore’s ingenious Academy Award winning screenplay based on an Andrew Hodges novel was gloriously multi-faceted. Moving, troubling, cerebral, heartwarming and heart-wrenching with equal care and purpose, it snapped audiences to attention from the haunting opening line ‘are you paying attention?’. There was so much depth in Moore’s dialogue that you needed to keep up in order to grasp the stakes and underlying emotional threads. Weaving seamlessly between multiple timelines without feeling scattered or disconnected, their intersection cleverly filled in the emotional puzzle pieces to create a rollercoaster of a timeline for Turing’s life as a testament to his ‘far from normal’ existence. Each moment had a purpose, from discovering Turing’s post-war creation in his Manchester house to pockets of a young Turing (Alex Lawther) being bullied in boarding school and discovering his fascination for maths and codes. Wartime London took centre stage though flipping between trying to crack Enigma and what the war was costing the Allies every minute they didn’t have an answer. The Blitz, naval battles, soldiers leaving their families to fight; Moore always made sure the code storyline never stood on its own. It was powerful because audiences saw the importance of the mission in the passing of time and the real-life cost.

The film’s cinematography by Oscar Faura and editing by William Goldenberg made everything look beautiful in sequence. With smooth scene transitions between wartime footage and narrative dialogue, the way the camera moved and conveyed the story was fluid and moved the story in tandem with a historical timeline. Alexandre Desplat’s score was also gorgeous in evoking that poignant, captivating atmosphere that complimented the visual tone and screenplay beautifully. Groundswells of orchestral melodies provided that extra emotional backbone that ultimately tied everything together.

What was particularly fascinating about the way the story moved was its extremely complex thematic foundation. Homosexuality, the politics of war games, lies and conspiracy, society at war and the story of Enigma itself were all baked into a riveting and easy-to-follow sequence of events. Turing’s own struggle as a homosexual when it was illegal in Britain was particularly heartbreaking; especially the sickness that fell over him when he chose ‘chemical castration’ over prison. Juxtaposing his monumental success with the criminality of his identity was gut-punching as an emotional core.

Reminiscent of Turing’s philosophical discussion of man or machine with Detective Nock (Rory Kinnear), the tonal blend between exploring the story of the Enigma-cracking machine and the story of the man whose genius created it was intriguingly thought-provoking. There was this heavy implication that no-one had thought about what would happen once they actually cracked Enigma and the ‘blood-soaked calculus’ that would follow to weave the secret conspiracy and the tremendous cost of success. Everything culminated in a beautiful ending which contrasted the jubilant bonfire with the gut-wrenching facts that brought the story into the present without wasting time on unnecessary exposition.

Cumberbatch was phenomenal in his performance as protagonist Professor Turing. Through the stutter, body language, self-assured intelligence and heart-aching vulnerability, there were so many layers that evoked a crystal-clear nuance of character. His undying desperation for the menacing Commander Denniston (Charles Dance) and the 1950s Manchester Police to not smash or take his beloved machine from him was so harrowing to watch; yet Tyldum made sure that his genius and gift to the life of computers was not only present, but celebrated. Cumberbatch was also surrounded by strong performances from a talented supporting cast, with Keira Knightley’s performance as Joan Clarke a particular standout for its understated humility and breaking down the barriers of early 20^th century misogyny.

In war, there is always a humungous human cost for victory. The Imitation Game illustrated that cost through the complexities of a man whose groundbreaking machine defeated Hitler but his sexuality branded him a criminal until he was posthumously pardoned in 2013. ‘Sometimes it is the people whom no-one imagines anything of who do the things that no-one can imagine’ was a phrase repeated multiple times in Tyldum’s masterpiece of an ode to the team whose determination altered history forever.

9.5/10, 4.5 STARS

Thanks for reading,

Love and giant code-breaking machines, Emily 💼