The Imitation Game

Another movie, yarr. If I remember correctly, I described it afterwards as “well-made rubbish”. It just felt artificial. The framing device is a copper investigating Turing in the 1950s for potentially treasonous activities, which is fair, but are we meant to believe that he actually explains his top secret war activities during the interrogation? I think we are; he asks the detective for his judgment at the end. That makes no sense.

As I said, it felt artificial. I actually liked the artifice, because it gave the movie energy. Like the officer who doesn’t like Turing and tries to kick him out of the project, because the protagonist needs someone to overcome. Or the team of cryptanalysts who resent working with Turing, so he can win them over and be saved by their support at his lowest moment. Or the bright female love interest (he’s gay, but she fills the role in every other way). But even while watching I felt like most of the characters were in the positions they were in just to give the story the right kind of shape for a movie.

At the end, and in some of the scenes in the 50s, there’s more murkiness as cracking enigma gives way to intelligence games. It would’ve been a better movie that happened halfway through.