Review of The Imitation Game (2014) by Ryan C — 26 Nov 2016

"The Imitation Game" is a historical drama thriller loosely based on the life of Alan Turing and the events that helped end World War II. The film tells the story of the group of men and women who worked at Britain's code-breaking centre at Bletchley Park leading up to and during WWII.Their work was to break the "Enigma" code, which the Nazis were using to communicate with one another about their land, sea, and sky operations. Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) was one of an elite group of mathematicians, logicians and linguists who were hired by MI-6 to find a way to solve Nazi codes. By taking a pre-war Polish electromechanical codebreaking machine, or "bombe," Turing and his team discover a way to crack the code.

"The Imitation Game" is as good as the hype has lead you to believe. Cumberbatch turns in a very powerful performance alongside by the usually charming Kiera Knightley. Director Morten Tyldum keeps the story tight, but does embellish a lot. However, the important thing to take away from this movie is the unbelievable significance Alan Turing has made to our history. Because of him, historians believe WWII ended two years earlier than is should have, therefore saving millions of more lives. In addition, Turing was a homosexual in a time where that "lifestyle" was not acceptable, and despite becoming a war hero, he was still arrested for being gay. He had his genitals chemically castration so he wouldn't have to go to jail and shortly after, he committed suicide. The appreciation of the accomplishments of Alan Turing and how he had changed and continues to change the world is the most important thing to take away.

The movie was nominated in eight categories at the 87th Academy Awards, received five nominations in the 72nd Golden Globe Awards, and was nominated in three categories at the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards. It also received nine British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominations and won the People's Choice Award at the 39th Toronto International Film Festival.