The Imitation Game is based on the true story of English mathematician and logician Alan Turing who, during World War II, helped defeat an unbreakable Nazi code with his creation.
I don't think I have watched a movie that was so complete in a long time. 2014 has brought us some amazing movies, some I got to watch and some that I didn't get to see yet (e.g. Boyhood or Interstellar), and as the year closes out this might be the last great film of 2014. The Imitation Game is the true story of Alan Turing who is the father of the modern computer. He was a brilliant mathematician and logician who had to hide a horrible secret during the early 20th century, his sexuality. The movie did a fantastic job of tying every nuance of his life into a neat, tidy and ultimately sad bow by the time the credits start to roll. This is a film that, if it wasn't true life, you would almost chalk up as a great espionage film. That's the kicker. This is a true story. To nail the little nuances can be difficult, but it's accomplished.
The writing by relative newcomer Graham Moore is superb. There is a fantastic mixture of humor and thrills mixed with heartache and bittersweet melancholy. He is able to lift you up and keeps you up until he pulls the rug out from under you at the end. The whole movie is based around breaking Nazi code, Enigma, which at the time was impossible to break. When you watch the film (and you need to watch this film), it really is brilliant how the code worked, and it was amazing how the code gets broken (sorry, SPOILER: The Allies won the war).
Right now, Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the best actors out there, and he continues to deliver with this movie. Honestly, everyone in this film is superb. There was not a miscast in this film at any position. This is a true cinematic film, not a flick. Cumberbatch's chemistry with Keira Knightley was great. You really felt that care and mutual adoration between the two characters. Actually, the chemistry with this entire cast was amazing. Mark Strong and Charles Dance are bit players whose actions have much larger implementations.
Watching the recreation of what this small group of people went through to not only save lives but end a war and the consequences of their actions was incredible to watch. Norwegian director Morten Tyldum does a job that, in my humble opinion, should get him an Oscar nomination. It is doubtful, but the performance he gets out of his actors is great, but then again, he was working with top-notch talent.
This is a film that you need to go watch; then when it comes out on DVD, you should pick it up and loan it out. It has great acting, writing and just an uplifting story with a tragic ending done in such a phenomenal fashion.
