This was far more entertaining than any of the previous Oscar nominees I've seen this year. I was actually a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed it, seeing as I'm not a huge Cumberbatch fan. I know that's not going to win me any Internet friends, but I just don't see the appeal. I think he's serviceable as an actor, but I wouldn't call him outstanding. As far as I'm concerned, that race is down to Steve Carrell, Michael Keaton, and Eddie Redmayne. Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) essentially recruits himself to work at Britain's top secret Bletchley Park facility. He joins a team of top-ranked mathematicians working on cracking the German enigma machine, but soon runs into serious problems due to his extreme social awkwardness. Fortunately, he meets Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), a budding mathematician shut out by a male-dominated field, who teaches him to utilize more human interaction in the interests of accomplishing his goal: the creating of a "thinking machine". The stresses of war and the crippling British losses wear down on the entire team, even more so when it is revealed that one of them may be a Soviet spy. Suspicion naturally falls on Turing, who is harboring a secret just not one about espionage. He is gay in a country that prosecutes homosexuality.
Alan Turing's tragically short life was so rife with drama that I'm amazed it took this long to get a movie made about him. He was a genius without whom we would not have this magical device I'm typing on now, who was vilified by his government and thrust into obscurity. The film covers his boarding school years through to his post-war teaching position. The script is good, the performances are excellent, and the production design is beautiful. I don't know about its chances at the actual awards ceremony, since it looks like it's coming down to Boyhood and Birdman, but I'll probably end up owning it.
No comments:
Post a Comment