The Imitation Game

 
My last movie talk before the Oscars (although I will be covering a few more aspects on the subject before Sunday) is about The Imitation Game. It’s a very good World War II thriller about a stellar team of British cryptanalysts who cracked Nazi Germany’s cipher machine Enigma. Brilliant, but troubled Alan Turing (played to perfection by Benedict Cumberbatch) is the film’s central hero who invents the revolutionary machine that not only brought victory to the Allies, but also gave birth to the computer age – it’s incredible to realise what impact his discovery has had on all our lives. His pioneering work was just as extraordinary as his personal life was sad, being convicted for being a homosexual in a time when it was considered a crime. Keira Knightley is the perfect match for Turing as his co-worker Joan Clarke, the only female involved in deciphering Enigma and who is his equal (back when it was considered “indecorous” for a single woman to work alongside men) and at least just as bright as Turing. I’m not forgetting Mark Strong either, who is terrific as Major General Stewart Menzies, and the entire cast is, in fact, very well chosen.