This true story about the life and achievements of famous mathematician Alan Turing will have you anticipating what will happen next.  The Imitation Game takes us through the troubles Alan Turing faces as he tries to overcome the barriers put up by society as well as attempting to break the most elaborate code in history.  

The Imitation Game, brought to us by Weinstein Company in 2014, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and directed by Morten Tyldum is a true story that took place during the second world war.  Mathematician Alan Turing and a group of other great minds are tasked with cracking the German Enigma Code that hides all of the German plans and attacks.  Alan Turing has to learn how to work with and lead a group of people as well as overcoming adversity being placed on him by people above him.

The movie goes through three different times of Alan Turing’s life, when he was a kid in school, during world war II, and after the war.  At the beginning of the movie, we are teased with seeing a older Alan Turing in a interrogation room.  Immediately after, we are introduced to Alan Turing during the second world war (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), a high achieving and brilliant young mathematician in Great Britain.  He has a job interview for a top secret job for the government that not even he knows what is for.  He lands the job and finds out that he, alongside other intelligent people, has the job of breaking the German Enigma Code, which will give Britain the ability to know the German’s messages.  He has a tough time working with other people as he works against the clock of the war.  As he is working, he meets Joan Clarke (played by Keira Knightley), an intelligent woman who he eventually gets to help them on their mission.  He builds a special connection with Joan as she helps he work better with the other men.  Meanwhile, we see a younger Alan Turing while he went to school.  We see him grow a friendship and more with a young boy named Christopher.  We also see Alan’s life after the war and how his life has changed since.  As the movie continues, Alan and company work hard to crack the code and a younger Alan builds a special relationship with Christopher. 

One thing I found particularly great in the movie was the acting and the relationship between the characters.  Benedict Cumberbatch’s acting was specifically spectacular.  His performance made me feel for his character.  I felt bad when Alan was misunderstood and good during his triumphs.  Relationships between his character and others were deep and always changing based on events happening in the movie.  One relationship in particular is Alan’s relationship with Joan.  Their relationship and friendship grows authentically and changes as they find out more about each other.  Another relationship that changes and grows is Alan’s relationship with Hugh Alexander (played by Matthew Goode), one the men he works with.  Hugh begins the movie with a negative attitude towards Alan.  However, as the movie progresses, Hugh better understands Alan and they are able to work together with more cooperation. Relationships felt authentic and real between characters.  Overall, the acting and the relationship building in this movie were distinguished.  

I recommend the Imitation Game highly to anybody who might be interested.  The movie seems to be targeted at a more older demographic, but I think anybody at any age can find this movie enjoyable and interesting.  The performances done by all the actors as well as the director were spectacular and the visuals were powerful, showing the destruction of war and the emotion of the actors.  The Imitation Game is a wonderful movie and it is definitely worth watching.