THE IMITATION GAME (2014) Morten Tyldum

I confess to being rather disheartened by the number of biopics out there these days: one in three films now tells the fictionalized story of some more or less well-known character.

The Imitation Game is an ambitious film: it aims to mark the redemption of Alan Turing , a scientist treated contemptuously by the British government, shortly after the war that Turing himself had helped the Allies win. And it is precisely in this ambition that the film stumbles: the desire to make a highly successful and broad-ranging film leads the director to lose his way: a misstep is wanting to tell the protagonist's life in general terms, rather than focusing on a single segment and exploring it in depth.

His homosexuality, his fundamental role in cracking the Enigma code, used by the Nazis to communicate during the war, his lucid madness ( Turing is said to have suffered from Arspenger syndrome , undiagnosable at the time ). These narrative threads are only hinted at, leaving plenty of space for the war and the work involved in cracking the code. The whole thing sometimes reeks of well-crafted fiction .

The film is enjoyable, mind you—beautiful photography, a good soundtrack. You can watch it in one sitting without checking your phone.

Benedict Chumberbatch proves himself to be an extraordinary actor, managing to be unlikable, arrogant, and perfectly conveying the idea of Turing's discomfort. A perfect character study, in short, enriched by little tics and vacant stares. A masterful performance that is undoubtedly the best thing about the film. I wouldn't be surprised by an Oscar, especially since, more generally, the entire production seems to have been designed to aim all too clearly for that goal .

On the other hand, I found Keira Knightley 's role to be out of focus . Every time she appeared ( and it happens quite often ), she always gave me the impression of being too modern for the setting, out of touch with the era depicted ( unfortunately, her embarrassing presence in Cronenberg's film also reminded me of her ). Matthew Goode and Allen Leech , Turing's two collaborators, were perfect .