A Movie Review: The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game is based on the true events surrounding World War II where the Allies were attempting to crack the Nazi Enigma machine.  The code breaker and father of the computer was Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) with help from Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) and Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode).  Though Turing is an obvious brilliant mathematician, he has one major problem in life -- two actually.  His one problem is that he just doesn't get along with people.  Though Turing is the most qualified individual in the UK to crack the Nazi Enigma machine, he still needs a team around him.  Via some prodding from Clarke, Turing begins to develop those relationships with his team.  Advancements that were once slow, start to speed up as everyone buys into his vision.

The Imitation Game jumps nicely between three time frames in Turing's life.  Though it focuses mostly on his work during World War II, it also deals with his early years and those soon after the war.  As mentioned, Turing has two problems.  His second problem is that he is a homosexual.  Now one reading this might say, what are you talking about?  Well, during World War II, if someone was discovered to be a homosexual in the UK, it led to either a prison term or the requirement to take hormone treatment (at least these are the options presented in the movie).  His homosexuality is uncovered via unintended circumstances.  After the war, Turing paid an individual for sex.  This man latter broke into Turing's home.  The police arrive at the scene and Turing is very uncooperative.  This peaks the interest of one of the detectives.  Doing some digging, the detective uncovers that the home invasion was actually done by the man that Turing paid for sex.  In his own way, Turing asks for understanding from the detective and reveals to the detective and to us his involvement in breaking the Nazi machine.

Though I have my problems with the movie, I do love the arrogance (along with perhaps a touch of autism) that Benedict Cumberbatch brings to the role.  My problem with the movie is that while it does deal with an important event in history, is it really a story meant for the big screen?  To me, this is a really a subject matter that should be dealt in the form of a book.  The movie only briefly mentions (in less than 5 seconds) how the Enigma machine was used to plan D-Day.  Wouldn't it be far more interesting to read a chapter about how the Allies planned D-Day directly based on the intelligence they received from Enigma?  And what about additional back stories on Clarke and Alexander?

Finally, here's a major problem I have with the movie.  One reason homosexuality was a crime (other than the fact that it just wasn't socially acceptable) was the fear that one could get blackmailed.  Isn't the fact that Turing is telling the detective about his role in Enigma and his basic plea for understanding a sort of subliminal proof on why this law was needed?  Turing is giving away top secret information to a detective.  Yes, those scenes with the detective indicate how ridiculous this law is, treating a national hero like a criminal just due to his sexual preference.  On the other hand, I think this movie can also be interpreted in those interactions as saying something that it didn't intend to say.