The Imitation Game (2014)
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A brilliant mathematician risks everything to crack the German Enigma code during World War II.
The story
In 1939, mathematician Alan Turing joins the British government's cryptography team at Bletchley Park. Tasked with breaking the Enigma machine used by the German military to send coded messages, Turing is a difficult and isolated figure who prefers to work alone. He develops a machine he calls 'Christopher' to automate the decryption process. When his superiors doubt the project's viability, Turing must navigate internal tensions, political pressures, and the high stakes of wartime intelligence to crack the code and potentially change the course of the war.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film begins in 1928 with a young Alan Turing and his friend Christopher Morcom. During World War II, Turing becomes a leading mathematician at Bletchley Park. He builds a machine to crack the German Enigma code, eventually gaining funding from Winston Churchill. He recruits Joan Clarke, who helps him manage the team and navigate the complexities of the project. As the war progresses, Turing discovers a Soviet spy, John Cairncross, and must navigate the risks of his own secret identity as a gay man. After the war, the project is classified, and Turing faces persecution for his sexuality, eventually leading to his chemical castration and tragic death in 1954. The film concludes by noting his contribution to modern computing and his posthumous pardon.
- First release year
- 2014
- Runtime (minutes)
- 115
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Morten Tyldum
- Writers
- Graham Moore · writer
- Cast and characters
- Benedict Cumberbatch · Turing; Keira Knightley · Joan Clarke; Matthew Goode · Hugh Alexander; Rory Kinnear · John Cairncross; Charles Dance · Alastair Denniston; Mark Strong · Stewart Menzies
- Genres
- biographical; thriller
- Themes
- cryptography; war; identity; science
- Tone and mood
- tense; poignant
- Premise and plot tags
- biopic; historical; war; mathematics
- Source material / true-story basis
- Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges
- Content notes
- historical inaccuracies
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim and was praised for its performances, particularly by Cumberbatch, but faced criticism for historical inaccuracies.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 71 · scale: 100 · review count: 49; CinemaScore · score: A+; PostTrak · score: 90% · scale: recommend
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Adapted Screenplay · win; Academy Award · Best Picture · nomination; Academy Award · Best Original Score · nomination; Golden Globes · nomination · nomination; SAG Awards · nomination · nomination; BAFTAs · nomination · nomination; Toronto International Film Festival · People's Choice Award for Best Film · win
- Production trivia
- The film was the highest-grossing independent film of 2014.; The bombe in the film is based on a replica of Turing's original machine.; The film's title refers to a paper by Turing on whether machines can think.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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