'The Imitation Game' Review: Almost There, But Not Quite

"The Imitation Game" is one of those movies that feels important and groundbreaking, yet falls apart the more you know about the events it portrays. It's a movie that's perfectly fine, yet could have been extraordinary, and that generates a level of disappointment that might mask what for many is one of the best films they've seen all year.



The film tells the story of the remarkable scientist and inventor Alan Turing, a man with great internal conflict and a vast intelligence. Along with his colleagues, Turing helped change the outcome of the Second World War, as his mathematical prowess and the construction of an early computation device could be used to crack what was thought to be unbreakable Nazi Codes.



The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch in a role sure to see many plaudits at awards time, with a very real possibility he'll be taking home the Best Actor trophy at the next Oscars. It's a highly sympathetic portrayal of the man, and along with fellow actors Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong and Charles Dance, you get an all-star Brit cast giving their all.



This all sounds good! What's your problem with this thing?

It may be unfair to do so, but I judge the film negatively for not doing justice to the complexity or richness of the story. This is a film that tells more than it shows, with plenty of expository dialogue letting us know about the brilliance of the man, or using hoary "ticking time bomb" events to show the frustration of getting the calculating device to behave properly. Its these contrivances that feel both forced and silly, whereas a slightly more poetic, or slightly more on-the-mark tact would have been preferred.



I usually caution against judging a film by what it's not vs. what it is, but it's clear that there are makings of a terrific film here that are masked under layers of arch melodrama and cloying moments of sentimentality.



Maybe you're just jaded?

Sure, maybe. There's another film out this month, "The Theory of Everything," that also tells the tale of a brilliant British scientist with relationship challenges. When both films screened during the Toronto Film Festival, I found it interesting that I could usually track by the reactions to each film which one was preferred. For me, I saw "Imitation Game" first, which perhaps in some ways softened me to appreciate the charms of "Theory of Everything" in a way I might not have going in clean. Similarly, many I know who saw the Eddie Redmayne performance as Stephen Hawking found it impressive in an empty film, while they were slightly more captivated by Cumberbatch's turn as Turing.



Stop your kvetching, I hear it's terrific!

So go see it, already, what do you need me for? (Wait, don't answer that.) If you love this film, you'll be happy to know it's already received a number of awards and nominations, including the prestigious People's Choice award at TIFF that's of late a great bellwether for Oscar glory.



I'll still be happy if it gets a bunch of wins -- I think Cumberbatch is an extraordinary talent, and this film is supremely superior to the egregious turn he took last year in the interminable "The Fifth Estate." There's a couple fun connections here -- first, Cumberbatch actually played Stephen Hawking back in 2004, and worked with another Scandinavian director in the truly sublime "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."



OK, now you're just deflecting.

Well, there too is a bit of a disappointment. Director Morten Tyldum has done a perfectly adequate job with "Imitation Game," but with his previous film "Headhunters" he crafted a kind of modern noir masterpiece. That film is so taut and elegant that you hoped some of it would translate, but instead we get a relatively pedestrian tale about Turing with most of the edges filed away. There is real struggle that's hinted at (or, at times, simply spelled out with uncomfortably on-point dialogue), yet we never really get sucked into either the paranoia or the real heartache. The film is chaste about both Turing's own inner struggles but also the way that the complexity of the situation involving code-breaking played out.



In the end, "The Imitation Game" feels more an imitation of what went on rather than the deep and accessible film it could have been. It's one film among many that have taken the safe road, and I believe the subject matter and the people involved could have (without too much additional effort) creating something both memorable and extraordinary. Instead, we're left with a showcase performer and an acceptable if not exemplary film. That's the game this film chose to play, and I guess I would have been happier if they would have played by different rules.



"The Imitation Game" is now playing in theatres.

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