THE IMITATION GAME directed by Morton Tyldum (UK, 2014)
This movie leaves me torn. On the one hand, I can see that it’s a tight and effective thriller with some great performances.
At the same time, I think that the writer and director missed a golden opportunity to set the record straight on a man who until recently was a forgotten hero.
Biopics inevitably bend the facts and this is fine when a story needs to be embellished to make it more interesting. A little added drama never hurt anyone. But in the case of Alan Turing, this kind of tweaking is unnecessary.
Why imply that he was blackmailed by a Russian spy when this never happened? Why suggest that his ‘abnormality’ was due to aspergers syndrome when this has not been proven? Why build up the relationship with a woman and sideline his homosexuality as if this was another of his personality flaws?
People who knew Turing describe him as eccentric, impatient, shy and kind. Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant in the title role, as is Alan Lawyher as young Turing, but while these performances capture the social ineptness of his character, the portrayals come close to representing him merely as a freak of nature. Continue reading
