The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game is a historical drama and biopic based on book Alan Turing: The Enigma, directed by Morten Tyldum (Headhunters). Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Turing with Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, and Charles Dance supporting. The film recently won the People’s Choice Award for Best Film at TIFF.

During the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) to investigate a reported burglary. They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of ‘gross indecency’, an accusation that would lead to his devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality – little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing. Famously leading a motley group of scholars, linguists, chess champions and intelligence officers, he was credited with cracking the so-called unbreakable codes of Germany’s World War II Enigma machine. An intense and haunting portrayal of a brilliant, complicated man, THE IMITATION GAME follows a genius who under nail-biting pressure helped to shorten the war and, in turn, save thousands of lives.

Considering how steeped in British history the story of Alan Turing is, it’s surprising that key production roles – the producing team, writer and director – aren’t from the UK. As Tyldum (a Norwegian) explains, “I think it’s good to have an outside view of it, as it naturally leads to an emphasis on the universal elements of the story. This was a special time in British history, make no mistake. But these ideas of Alan’s, they were so much bigger than the time and the war.”

The Imitation Game is rated PG.

Read our review here.

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