Monday, January 12, 2015

Movie Review Madness: The Imitation Game


Start marking your Oscar ballot. The Imitation Game is why I go to movies. It’s smart, brilliantly acted, well-paced, and just darn great. Alan Turing, was a genius British logician and cryptologist. Hired on to a team, this unique man followed his own path and created the machine that cracked the Enigma Code – the Nazis secret communication device. Who knew that mathematics could be exciting?  Benedict Cumberbatch brings the quirks of Turing to life. This is a man keeping secrets with no social skills whatsoever. He is the smartest man in the room, which does not make friends.  

However, Keira Knightley’s Joan recognizes the man behind the brittle exterior. She too can solve puzzles in minutes and helps him tease out a solution. She is willing to marry him despite his secret (he is a homosexual back when that was against the law), and implores him to consider that they could have an “arrangement”. They are odd ducks in the world. We go back and forth in time – we see Turing under arrest and his tortured life. We see Turing as a hero – however, complicated the issues. Matthew Goode, on the team, is the popular guy who ultimately recognizes Turing’s ridiculous vision and is a key to keeping that vision alive.  

The excitement of solving the Enigma is well done. And then the full measure of that success has issues. Yes, they helped the Allies win the war two years earlier than projected, but lives were still lost so as not to let the Nazis know what they knew. Alan Turing’s life story is tortured, but this is the man who begat computers. He would be astonished at where his vision took us. The Imitation Game is Oscar worthy and just sheer intelligent film entertainment.

6 comments:

  1. This is another one for my want-to-see list, at some point. I find Keira Knightley's mouth distracting though...

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    1. it makes her human, otherwise she'd be too pretty and too good an actress, and obviously rather smart. Go see the flick for Benedict!

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  2. That movie does look very interesting, I might have to go to the cinema for once ;)

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  3. Another great review. I have not heard about this movie. Will watch for it, now. Hope you are staying warm. Our part of Texas is COLD...today...tomorrow..who knows!
    Sue at CollectInTexas Gal

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  4. Ooooh, this sounds like a good one! Thank you for the review!

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  5. I agree that this is a wonderful movie! Unfortunately, we missed the first half, as we walked out of a terrible movie, and didn't want to wait another two hours to see The Imitation Game from the beginning. This is something we never do, though it still drew us in right away, and we had no trouble following the plot. This movie really should be enjoyed from beginning to end. It's so sad how Turing was judged by his homosexuality instead of for the genius he was.

    Julie

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