The Imitation Game

Title: The Imitation Game
Director: Morten Tyldum
Cinematography and Acting: 5/5
Content: 4/5
Overall: 9/10

It feels like I haven't seen a movie in ages and it's been good to return to movies with a film this amazing.

Alan Turing has always fascinated me and I suppose the fact that I'm an engineer has made me identify with this movie a bit more. However, regardless of my personal interest in the history of technology, I feel like this is one of the best films I have seen.

The story is set out beautifully with flashbacks inserted into the timeline. This helps the audience really understand the loneliness and emotional distance Turing must have felt. Woven into Turing's emotional story however, is his passion to solve a puzzle. His talent and passion for this is so great that he has helped shape history. Unfortunately, a lot more people know of Taylor Swift than him. You might believe this is purely down to the usual disinterest people have when it comes to science. That may play a part of course but a far more tragic factor is also involved. He was treated disgustingly (not that many years ago) for being homosexual. Hence, this film also serves as a reminder of the tragedies in our history.

Benedict Cumberbatch's acting is incredible. He plays the role of the ostracised genius to perfection. It's probably an incredibly difficult job to portray a socially awkward person's emotional history but Cumberbatch has done it faultlessly.

Before I had seen the film, my only worry concerning the cast was Keira Knightley. I have never been the biggest fan of her acting and I was worried that her overly dramatic style could have harmed the film's overall success. I still wouldn't say she was incredible but she was significantly better than I expected and compared to Cumberbatch's shining performance, she managed to hold her own.

All in all, this was probably one of the best films of 2014 and the only reason it doesn't get a 10 is because I am incredibly reluctant to declare anything to be perfect.


*The product artwork I use within this review is taken from Wikipedia in order to identify the subject of the review. It is low enough in resolution such that it couldn't be used as counterfeit or pirated material.
*"The Imitation Game poster" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Imitation_Game_poster.jpg#mediaviewer/File:The_Imitation_Game_poster.jpg