This is the Autumn of the Smart People in movie land. Big Hero 6, The Imitation Game, and The Theory of Everything all being in theaters at the same time gives us a virtual overload (for Hollywood) of movies that celebrate brilliance and wits over brawn. It’s a great time to be a smart person who enjoys movies, because we finally have some people like us not only up on the screen, but starring, saving the day, and being generally amazing.
True confession: Normally after I see a premiere I write my review immediately the night of, so I don’t forget what I liked or didn’t, and so on. But I saw the premiere of The Imitation Game days ago and just couldn’t bring myself to write the review right away.
If that gives you the impression that The Imitation Game isn’t a great movie, let me disabuse you of that notion immediately. It’s a fantastic movie, and I wanted my review to do it justice and to make you WANT to see it, because it’s an “art house” movie, meaning it’s not a blockbuster, there are no superheroes in capes, no explosions in that sense (other than historical footage from World War II), no real fight scenes, and certainly no sex scenes. But if you’d like to see a movie with brilliant performances that not only matters but celebrates brilliant, out-of-the-box thinking over stodgy “this how we do things ‘round here, young man” mindsets, then this film is for you.
The Imitation Game is about how mathematician and cryptologist Alan Turing and a team of other mathematicians, logicians, and really good crossword puzzle solvers (seriously) broke the Engima code and essentially won World War II for the Allies. It’s also about how Turing created the first computer to do so. And about the way he was thanked for all of this (spoiler alert: not nicely at all).
It’s also really about Turing’s overall lonely life, much of which he spent being ostracized for being brilliant and also odd and different. Turing was a homosexual at the time when men were still being imprisoned for that as a crime, and that hovers over the entire movie, with good reason. Turing isn’t necessarily a likeable person, but he’s brilliant and has empathy for others in a similar position – being smarter than everyone else in the room – particularly Joan Clarke, one of the key people on the team that broke Enigma.
The movie is based on the biography Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. Turing was never given his due in his lifetime, but without him we wouldn’t have computers, handheld electronic devices of any kind, smartphones, and more. And if you enjoy any of those things, or anything else that’s run by a computer, then you need to see this movie. But there are more – many more – reasons why you should go to see The Imitation Game, and not the least of which is to be reminded that different doesn’t mean evil, and that while we may have come a long way in terms of accepting those who fall outside of the so-called “norm” we have an even longer way to go.
Considering that the movie’s main focus is a bunch of smart people trying to solve codes in a room, you’d think it would be boring, but it’s anything but. The moviemakers give us a taut, edge of your seat movie. The movie utilizes a flashback and flashforward structure that’s jarring at first. But as soon as you begin to recognize the visual clues for when you’re flashing back or forward (early in the movie), the jarring feeling stops. The flashbacks and flashforwards make the film more engaging and also ratchet up the suspense. Yes, the movie is based on real people and events, and we know that the Allies broke the Enigma code and won the war. Doesn’t matter. While you’re watching you just don’t know that they will, especially because Turing is constantly up against authorities who want to shut him down and go back to trying the things that aren’t working.
Benedict Cumberbatch plays Turing as an adult and Alex Lawther plays him young. There’s already talk about Cumberbatch being up for a Best Actor Oscar (deservedly), but I think Lawther deserves a Best Supporting Actor nomination, because he has the very difficult task of showing us young Turing at school, during which times hugely formative things happen to him that will, of course, resonate throughout his life and, therefore, the film. Lawther shows us all of Turing’s pain, brilliance, love, and more, just as well as Cumberbatch does, and without Lawther’s excellent performance the movie wouldn’t work.
The same can and should be said of Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke. All the actors are uniformly good, but most aren’t big names in the U.S. Knightly is, and she inhabits Clarke’s intelligence as well as her compassion with excellence. Clarke is a woman in a man’s world, and at every turn she’s only there because Turing has no issue with a woman being brilliant – he truly does love her for her mind – and he supports her when she needs it, until the point comes where she’s willing to fight to do what she wants, regardless of anyone else’s opinions, including Turing’s.
Mark Strong, also very recognizable to American audiences, has another key supporting role. It was nice to see him in a more understated yet still magnetic performance than some of the over-the-top villains he’s played.
As a warning, bring some tissues or grab some extra napkins from the refreshments counter, because the joy in the movie is tempered harshly by the reality of Turing’s situation, and the last fifteen minutes of the movie are tear-inducing.
The key line of the film is this: Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine. And sometimes it’s the films you don’t expect to move or stay with you that do. This is one of those movies.
Rating: A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5CjKEFb-sM
The Imitation Game
Summary
The key line of the film is this: Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine. And sometimes it’s the films you don’t expect to move or stay with you that do. This is one of those movies.
Samuel K. Sloan says
Gini, based on your review I have place this movie at the very top of my theatrical MUST SEE list.
Gini Koch says
Yay! I’m so glad. It’s a really excellent film. The hubs said that it wasn’t one he wanted to see over and over again, but that doesn’t mean it’s not great. And I think it’s a movie that will last and be something people watch years from now, too.