The Imitation Game

I have been to London 3 times so far, and i love the atmosphere of the big city. So many restaurants, shops, but the biggest passion i have for London is the music scene. There are many great british bands around England, and for many years i have tried to check out some of latest releases. Some are really good, some are average. But it is always nice to hear young people are influenced by classic ingredients. Speaking of England, there are so many good films coming out, including british tv series. If you compare swedish films and tv series with british productions, you realise that the english actors are on a completely different level on acting. They feel more natural, more explosive, and they try to show emotions, compared to Swedish actors. I am not saying that all swedish productions are bad, but very few of the films that comes out have a high quality. So i rather watch european productions, because quality is most likely guaranteed. One of the greatest british actors of all time, is named Benedict Cumberbatch. When i saw him for the first time in Sherlock, a new adaption of the Sherlock Holmes character, i could not resist his fantastic performance. How he could make the legendary character Sherlock Holmes in such a unique way, was really uplifting. Perhaps you saw him as an evil character Khan, in Star Trek Into Darkness ? You might remember what a fantastic performance he did. If you have not seen Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, i suggest you go and rent it, and see him deliver a very solid performance. There are more films i could recommend, but let´s paus this information, and focus on this film called The Imitation Game. Based on the life and career of the British mathmetican Alan Turning, who helped to solve the Enigma codes in World War II. Based on a true story, is this historical drama another proof why Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the greatest actors of England, or is this role not the right choice for his

In the year 1939, Britain declares war on Germany. A young mathematican named Alan Turing ( Benedict Cumberbatch ), is asked to join a team, chosen by Commander Alastair Denniston ( Charles Dance ). At first Commander Alastair is not sure if Alan have what it takes to solve the codes, but when he see his potential, he decides to let him into the secret project. With the team of Hugh Alexander ( Matthew Goode ), John Cairncross ( Allen Leech ), Peter Hilton ( Matthew Beard ), Keith Furman ( Ilan Goodman ) and Charles Richards ( Jack Tarlton ). The teams mission is to try and find out what the germans are planning, and try to break the ciphers, and try to find secret messenges. The team see Alan as a very hard person to work with, until one day when Commander Alastair inform Alan that he refuse to fond the construction of the machine. Alan refuse to accept this, so he write to Winston Churchill, who confirm that he approve Alan to be the leader of the team, and also fund the machine. Alan fires Furman and Richards, and plan to find someone who fits better into his vision. He meets Joan Clarke ( Kiera Knightley ), a Campbridge graduate. Alan realise that they need a womans perspective in this project, so he agree to let her join. As the project moves along, Alan´s personal life could destroy everything, when some people find out he is homosexual. Alan hide, and become the husband to Joan, not to loose his position. But how long can he hide the truth, and can he finish this project if the truth comes out ?

This might actually be the greatest performance of Benedict Cumberbatch so far. I am stunned how well he managed to portrait Alan Turing, the british cryptanalyst. I do not know if this is close to how he was in real life, when he was still alive, but i have a feeling no one could have done a better performance than Benedict. The story itself is very interesting, how Alan could help find the Enigma codes, during the second world war. You understand how he must have been in real life, a very intelligent man, who had to prove himself while some people were skeptical about his work.  To see how he could read codes, and find out secret information is impressive. I could only imagine that if i tried to make any sense of these codes, i would be stuck. Director Morten Tyldom, is actually a director from Norway. His most famous film from the past, might be Headhunters, based on the novel by author Jo Nesbø. If you compare Headhunters to The Imitation Game, it feels like Morten Tyldom moved up on a completely different level of quality cinema. This is definetely his best film so far as an director, and he proves himself with such a powerful story. The acting is really good, from all corners of the film. The cinematography is splendid, where he manage to capture the feeling of different time periods of Allan Turnings life. One of the performances that you should notice, is Charles Dance as Commander Alastair Denniston. I can´t remember when he was this good, this might actually be one of his best performances ever. One detail i really enjoy with this story, is that director Morten Tyldom really tries to dig deep, so we can feel how many problems Allan had in his whole life, including that he was a homosexual man. Of course he could not tell this to everyone, because in those days that was a crime. The Imitation Game is a film that gives us a chance to understand this legendary man, who changed many peoples lives with his hard work. I think it would be a great idea to show this film from an educational perspective, since there is a lot to learn from Alan Turing. I will advice you to buy this film, it is a very important portrait of a man who helped changed history during the second world war. There is no doubt, The Imitation Game is a winner in many ways, and Benedict Cumberbatch should have won an Oscar at The Academy Awards earlier this year. See this film today, you will never regret that you did take the time to see it. Any doubts now ?

Rating: DDDD