The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game

*** ½ / ****

 

Reviewed by Sean Trolinder

 

Directed by Morten Tyldum

 

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Charles Dance, Mark Strong, Matthew Beard, Allen Leech, Rory Kinnear, Alex Lawther, Jack Bannon

 

 

            Imagine wars being decided by crossword puzzles and rigorous mathematics that could decide the arrival and destination of where ships, submarines, and destroyers will arrive. Typically, history has portrayed generals standing atop hills, shielding their eyes from the blaring bombs going off near a beach, and listening to the waves crash over piles of bodies, crimson blood swirling within the foam. When you took American History in high school, I bet you didn’t foresee a bunch of men and women wearing ties, suits, and suspenders, slaving behind desks, swooping pencils over paper just to encrypt important military messages. With each tick of the clock, two or three men die and the casualties grow over time. In director Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game, he proposes that World War II was won by a bunch of encryptors, puzzle solvers, and mathematicians who broke Germany’s enigma code. On the surface, The Imitation Game sounds like a film that would lack tension and focus on a bunch of intelligent people sitting around a warehouse, waiting for answers. However, Tyldum makes what seems to be boring subject matter on paper into something dramatic, surprisingly funny, and tense all at once. Tyldum is able to achieve this by long medium shots, framing the actors struggling within their environment, as well as quick editing between rooms and scenes, showing Alan Turing (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) working alone in one room, Hugh Alexander (played by Matthew Goode) and his colleagues in another room, angry at a day wasted of translating only a few worthless messages, and the subsequent battle scenes of planes and ships being shot down in the actual war, reminding the audience that lives are being lost as the encryptors burn minutes trying to solve the enigma code, which has 196 million times a million times a million possible keys. Aside from Tyldum’s careful direction and a plot that presents audiences with what seems like a mathematical improbability to solve, Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance and screenwriter Graham Moore’s insight into Turing’s teenage years make for an intense, interesting character study.

            The film begins with the police coming to Turing’s home in 1951, since they received a report of a robbery from his neighbor. Turing claims nothing happened, but the police are disturbed by a strange looking machine in his living room with many wires, cylinders, and the presence of arsenic. Due to such strange events and Turing rudely dismissing them, the police decide to do an investigation to find out about his involvement with the British navy. With a glimpse into Turing’s anti-social personality in 1951, the film flashes several years back into World War II, when Turing shows up to a job interview with Commander Denniston (played by Charles Dance). During the interview, Turing acts arrogant and does not understand some of Denniston’s doublespeak, causing for a surprisingly funny exchange as the genius Turing shows an incapability to understand common sense, lacking any notion of humor. Right when Denniston informs Turing that he’s bombed the interview, Turing brings up that they need him more than he needs them, and he’s only there since he needs a challenge. Turing mentions Germany’s enigma code, claiming it is the hardest code to break, and he is the only man capable of breaking it. Shocked by how Turing could possibly know that the interview was a test for this exact project, Denniston agrees to hire him, only if he works with Hugh Alexander (a genius chess player and Turing’s intellectual equal) and a team of mid-level encryptors, who have backgrounds in math.

            At first, Turing continues his anti-social behavior and distances himself from Hugh and his colleagues. In return, his coworkers do not seem to like him either, often furious that Turing wants to build a code-breaking machine to solve the enigma code while they all slave away in another room, trying to break minor codes for eighteen hours a day. However, Turing does not have the funds to build his great machine, which would cost the British government one hundred thousand pounds. Denniston denies Turing’s requests for the funds, so Turing decides to give a note to Stewart Menzies (played by Mark Strong), a man close to Winston Churchill. After Churchill gets the letter, he not only grants Turing the funds for his machine, but he promotes him to team leader over Hugh, which causes further tension between the two. One of Turing’s first decisions as team leader is to fire the two weakest encryptors, a decision that does not sit well with the team. To find replacements, Turing organizes a test to find two of the best puzzle solvers around, with one turning out to be Joan Clarke (played by Keira Knightley), the only person in Britain that can solve crosswords quicker than Turing himself.

            As more shots of the war appear throughout, screenwriter Graham Moore ups the tension by showing flashbacks of a teenaged Turing (played by Alex Lawther) being bullied and tortured for his genius at an academy. These scenes give insight as to why Turing was possibly anti-social. However, during his entire time at the academy, he befriends a classmate named Christopher Morcom (played by Jack Bannon), who introduces Turing to code breaking. Through their endeavors with creating codes, the two build a close bond, so much so that Turing develops a crush on Christopher, but during that time in Britain, homosexuality was against the law, often referred to as “gross indecency.” As the past story continues, Tydlum returns to the present with the cops investigating Turing in 1951, when they discover his homosexuality, yet nothing about how he broke the enigma code. The question becomes whether the cops really want to convict Turing of gross indecency or not.

            The storyline between the enigma code and Turing hiding his homosexuality intersect with growing concerns about how Joan might move away, since her parents are afraid that as she ages while working in a male-driven profession, she will no longer be seen as someone men would find worthy of marrying. At this point in the film, Turing understands Joan is his best code breaker and feels comfortable talking with her. Essentially, Joan is his only friend, so in a panic, Turing proposes to her. However, he does not inform her that he is a homosexual, which only thickens the tension. Part of Turing loves Joan, since they share an intellectual and unique bond. Their minds are the attraction, but Turing does not feel any sexual longing for her. Joan also coaches Turing into being more social as he tries to get Hugh and the team to warm up to him and his code-breaking machine, which he names “Christopher” (which is obviously related to his childhood crush).

            Though The Imitation Game is very well edited as it effortlessly moves from Turing’s teenaged years to World War II and to 1951, there are a few scenes that seem to cater toward Hollywood clichés. One such scene happens when Turing and Hugh try to figure out what to do with the information once the enigma code is broken. At one point, one of the code breakers, Peter Hilton (played by Matthew Beard), finds out that his brother is on a destroyer being surrounded by German U-boats, but Turing tries to rationalize that they can’t save him, since by doing so, it would throw away all the work they’ve done and the Germans would be onto them breaking the enigma code. It plays up the whole notion of geniuses playing God, that at the end of the day they get to decide who lives or dies. Though the scene definitely gives more tension within the team, it seems like the film could still succeed without the overdramatic bit of a family member about to die. Also, I’m a big fan of Charles Dance as an actor, but the script did seem to make Commander Denniston out to be more villainous than he probably really was, constantly out to fire Turing.

 

            Overall, The Imitation Game is one of the best films of 2014. Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, and Matthew Goode give career best performances, with Cumberbatch’s being one that should be hailed for years. His ability to play a genius without a set of social skills rings true to me, but the best parts are Turing’s emotional breakdowns. Also, one of the enduring qualities of the film is the relationship between Turing and Joan Clarke. The fact their relationship operates as a meeting of the minds makes the film special, beyond just its insight into World War II history. Cumberbatch’s star will continue to rise over time, and perhaps he’ll become one of Britain’s modern greats, but director Morten Tyldum is an intriguing filmmaker, one who will enter the realm of being labeled an auteur soon enough.