By Brett Blake Director Morten Tyldum’s THE IMITATION GAME is a textbook example of consummate British filmmaking craft on display, and I mean that in the very best way. It tells its story well, bolstered by every technical department, and it offers a host of fine performances, though none are more impressive than that of Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role. Centrally, the story concerns Alan Turing (Cumberbatch), who - during World War II - helps lead a team of British mathematics geniuses in an effort to break Enigma, the Nazi code method deemed by many to be completely unbreakable. Through this effort - and through his relationship with Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), in particular - we not only are treated to a cracking, true-life espionage yarn, but we also gain an appreciation of Turing as a closely-guarded man with secrets (mostly involving his homosexuality), but who is, without question, an incredibly important figure in the grand scheme of the Allies’ eventual victory in WWII. Much of the movie exists on the level of a spy thriller, albeit a kind of subdued one; this is not the sort of film where shootouts or chases are the source of the thrill (though there are some brief - but effective - cutaways to bombing and combat in the war), but rather conversations provide the real juice. The scene where (spoilers for real life) Turing and his team break the Enigma code is a masterpiece of editing and intellectual thrill, as is the sequence which follows, where the team debates having to let a Nazi attack on a civilian fleet go forward (in order to prevent the Nazis from discovering the Allies have broken the code); it’s one of the great scenes of the year. A film like this - one with an unusual or quirky protagonist - truly does live or die in the hands of the actor playing the role, and Cumberbatch rises to that challenge and strikes it down with ease, delivering a superb performance, one of the finest of the year. He imbues Turing with a complex humanity; it’s a mannered performance, full of interesting choices, line readings, and quirks, but these are never distracting, and they serve to illuminate certain fundamental things about the man. His relationship with his own sexuality is a fascinating component, though the screenplay - wisely - never lets this become a primary focus. Surrounding Cumberbatch is a rogue’s gallery of fine British character actors. We are treated to some very strong work from Charles Dance (absolutely making a meal of the dialogue he’s given; in fact, the entire screenplay contains some razor sharp, witty dialogue), Mark Strong (playing a good guy for a change!), Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, and - most importantly - Keira Knightley. Knightley’s role, on paper, could have become a walking cliche (the strong, intelligent young woman trying to make her way in a field dominated by men), but she brings an incredible amount of nuance to the part, and the way her relationship with Turing progresses has a unique flavor that, thankfully, doesn’t resolve in a conventional way. The period setting of the story is lovingly rendered by the costume design (in particular), the production design, and the cinematography; the photography, for example, has a crisp look that nicely and warmly depicts the era. Alexandre Desplat contributes yet another fine score in 2014 (he surely must not have slept very much at all, this year), propelling the movie along with strong piano and string rhythms; it’s the kind of score he’s written before (no new ground is broken), but it underlines the film in a really effective way, particularly towards the end. It’s hard to really come up with nitpicks for this one; some may quibble with the way the final section of the movie plays out (involving Turing’s post-war encounter with the U.K.’s anti-homosexuality laws of the time, and the way in which that directly and immediately impacts his life), or some might say it presents the story in too conventional a manner. None of these really bothered me in the slightest; THE IMITATION GAME is good, old fashioned, straight-forward storytelling that is completely engrossing and entertaining, and Benedict Cumberbatch gives a performance that even detractors of the film would have to concede is worthy of admiration. This is one of 2014’s best films.
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