The Imitation Game TIFF Review (1 Viewer)

Yavin · Sep 10, 2014

Another year, another film at TIFF starring Benedict Cumberbatch... last year it was The Fifth Estate; this time it's The Imitation Game.

The film is a biopic about the secret life of computing pioneer Alan Turing, and it focuses specifically on his life during World War II. It could have easily been just another rote exercise in historical regurgitation, but it's actually quite a brilliant biopic.

From my review at TIFF:

While many may only be familiar with Turing's academic accomplishments, the film chronicles his lesser-known exploits as part of an elite grouping of minds tapped by MI6 to crack the German Enigma code, used by the Third Reich to transmit encrypted messages to the front lines. Despite working tirelessly to complete their top-secret mission, it was a machine built by Turing himself — which eventually paved the way for modern computing — that ultimately helped them achieve success, expediting the Allies' victory. But as classified as this work was, Turing guarded a more controversial secret: his homosexuality. And less than a decade after the war ended, his persecution for it — then still considered a crime — led to his suicide.

Although the story unfolds somewhat nonlinearly, alternating between key moments in Turing's life, director Mort Tyldum's (Headhunters) film is still very much in the vein of traditional biopics. Yet the story evokes not only heartbreak, but humor and inspiration, thanks to Cumberbatch's impressively nuanced take on the role. Bolstered by a winning cast — especially Keira Knightley as Joan Clarke, a woman whose own experience with prejudice helps her form a close bond with Turing — the result is a compelling portrait of a tortured genius that few people really knew (and even fewer truly understood).

4 out of 5.

Mark-W · Sep 10, 2014

Thanks, Yavin! I really liked Derek Jacobi's portrayal of Turning. Looking forward to BC's!!!

Craig S · Sep 14, 2014

Saw the trailer for this last week. I've always found the subject fascinating, and am really looking forward to this one. The film, Cumberbatch and Knightly are all getting early season Oscar buzz.

CraigF · Sep 14, 2014

"his lesser-known exploits" are only lesser-known by people who probably can put just about everything that didn't happen since they were born in that category. The movie sounds good for what it is, but I can't think of how many times this has been covered, including recently in Codebreaker (released theatrically in the U.S. less than 2 years ago). I presume this is a Hollywood take now, IOW a dramatically enhanced version of facts.

[I am a little snarky because I just watched a well-known movie with a Hollywood take on a relatively recent factual event, and I don't think there was anything factual about it except the peoples' names. It purports to be factual, and has out-of-context sound bites to make it seem like it is (like those movie review critics' snippets that make a clunker sound good), but never actually directly says it is. I am a stickler for facts when they are easily accessible, and I know movies are entertainment to make $$, and I'm mad at myself for watching a Hollywood "biopic" when I know I'm going to be mad at myself for watching it beforehand.

]

andySu · Nov 14, 2014

I'd have to check this out when it arrives on bluray. Breaking that blasted enigma code was one the many paramount issues of WWII to saving lives.

Came across this.
Breaking the Code: Biography of Alan Turing (Derek Jacobi, BBC, 1996)

Turing, one of many kinds of geniuses to contribute is invaluable efforts of WWII.

Yavin · Dec 12, 2014

Updated with my full theatrical review.

Patrick Sun · Dec 30, 2014

I'm not really a Benedict Cumberbatch fan, but I wanted to see a film about Alan Turing and his efforts to beat the Enigma machine in WWII, so off I went.The film, overall, is buoyed by Cumberbatch's performance of the eccentric Turing, and the supporting cast (Mark Strong, Keira Knightley, and Matthew Goode) is solid. The script gives the viewer insight to Turing's past, how it shapes his personality, and the race against the clock to use his mind to overcome the odds in decrypting the German's Enigma machine which allowed them to broadcast war plans and directives without the Allies being able to comprehend them. Each day lost in decryption failure meant lives were lost to the war. I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.

TravisR · Dec 30, 2014

I liked it quite a bit and considering that it was a movie basically about guys building a computer & that everyone knows the outcome, I was surprised by how the movie managed to be suspenseful. Cumberbatch (who I've only seen in this and Star Trek) is really good and makes you feel for the character/real life person.

Wayne_j · Dec 30, 2014

I'm headed off to the theater in 30 minutes to see this.

Tino · Dec 30, 2014

Loved it. One of the years best. A fascinating film about the man who saved 14 million lives. Benedict Cumberbatch will be Oscar nominated for sure as I'm sure the film will be numerous times. ***1/2 out of ****

GlennF · Dec 31, 2014

Really enjoyed it as well. He is basically an unlikable character but Cumberbatch made you ultimately like him and care for him. Well worth seeing. I am still deciding between Keaton and Cumberbatch for my "Oscar vote".

Tino · Dec 31, 2014

More socially awkward than unlikeable imo. A truly great performance.

TravisR · Dec 31, 2014

GlennF said:
I am still deciding between Keaton and Cumberbatch for my "Oscar vote".

Cumberbatch was wonderful but my vote would go to Michael Keaton. I liked The Imitation Game more than Birdman but looking only at performance, Keaton was really great.

Hanson · Jan 16, 2015

There is a sequence in the middle of the film where Turing has a eureka moment in bar and then breathlessly implements his insight to get the code breaking machine to work. It's the highlight of the movie for me, full of energy and suspense. The rest of movie, aside from the scenes with Charles Dance, is competent but dreary -- kind of like watching a season 3 episode of Downton Abbey (well, maybe a tad better than that). Like The King's Speech, The Imitation Game is something you'd expect on PBS Masterpiece Theater and not an Oscar candidate. It is clearly another "just okay" movie muscled through the academy by Harvey Weinstein. Also, I could not stop thinking about how much Cumberbatch's portrayal of Turing reminded me of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. Nerds!

Tino · Jan 16, 2015

Muscled thru the Academy??

Ya know maybe it's just a great film and didn't need any "muscling".

Jason Marsh · Jan 16, 2015

Hanson said:
Also, I could not stop thinking about how much Cumberbatch's portrayal of Turing reminded me of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. Nerds!

That's EXACTLY what I said to my wife while we were watching it!

TonyD · Feb 19, 2015

Yavin said:
Another year, another film at TIFF starring Benedict Cumberbatch... last year it was The Fifth Estate; this time it's The Imitation Game.

The film is a biopic about the secret life of computing pioneer Alan Turing, and it focuses specifically on his life during World War II. It could have easily been just another rote exercise in historical regurgitation, but it's actually quite a brilliant biopic.

From my review at TIFF:

4 out of 5.

what is "TIFF"?

TravisR · Feb 19, 2015

TonyD said:
what is "TIFF"?

Toronto International Film Festival.

Ejanss · Feb 20, 2015

Tino said:
Muscled thru the Academy??

Ya know maybe it's just a great film and didn't need any "muscling".

The Weinsteins will ALWAYS muscle. They've tasted the blood of 1996.

The reason we have such crappy nominations now is the one-month-shorter voting period, and that was caused by muscling.

It's no longer become a question of whether they're muscling, it's now what they're muscling.

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