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The Imitation Game

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"Imitation Game" redirects here. For the variation of the Turing test, see Turing Test § Imitation Game.
The Imitation Game
File:International Teaser Poster for The Imitation Game.jpg
International teaser poster
Directed byMorten Tyldum
Written byGraham Moore
Produced by
  • Nora Grossman
  • Ido Ostrowsky
  • Teddy Schwarzman
Starring
CinematographyÓscar Faura
Edited byWilliam Goldenberg
Music byAlexandre Desplat[3]
Production
companies
Black Bear Pictures[4]
Bristol Automotive[4]
Distributed byStudioCanal
(United Kingdom and France)
The Weinstein Company (United States)
Release dates
  • 29 August 2014 (2014-08-29) (Telluride Film Festival)
  • 14 November 2014 (2014-11-14) (United Kingdom)[1]
  • 21 November 2014 (2014-11-21) (United States)
CountriesUnited Kingdom [2]
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million[5]

The Imitation Game is a 2014 British-American thriller film about British mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, a key figure in cracking Nazi Germany's Enigma code that helped the Allies win World War II, only to later be criminally prosecuted for his homosexuality.[6][7][8] It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing and is directed by Morten Tyldum with a screenplay by Graham Moore, based on the biography Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges.[9][10][11]

The film's screenplay topped the annual Black List for best unproduced Hollywood scripts in 2011.[12] After a bidding process against five other studios, The Weinstein Company acquired the film for a record $7 million in February 2014, the highest ever amount paid for US distribution rights at the European Film Market.[13]

The film had its world premiere at the 41st Telluride Film Festival in August, it also featured at the 39th Toronto International Film Festival in September where it won "People's Choice Award for Best Film," the highest award of the festival. It had its European premiere as the opening film of the 58th BFI London Film Festival on October 2014.[14][15] The Imitation Game will have a general release in the United Kingdom on 14 November 2014, and will be released theatrically in the United States on 21 November 2014.[1][16]

Synopsis

The film portrays the race against time by Alan Turing (Cumberbatch) and his team of code-breakers at Britain's top-secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II. The motley group of scholars, mathematicians, linguists, chess champions and intelligence officers had a powerful ally in Prime Minister Winston Churchill who authorized the provision of any resource they required. The film spans the key periods of Turing's life: his unhappy teenage years at boarding school; the triumph of his secret wartime work on the revolutionary electro-mechanical bombe that was capable of breaking 3,000 Enigma-generated naval codes a day; and the tragedy of his post-war decline following his conviction for gross indecency, a now-outdated criminal offence stemming from his admission of maintaining a homosexual relationship.[17]

Cast

Production

Before Benedict Cumberbatch joined the project, Warner Bros. bought the screenplay for a reported seven-figure sum because of Leonardo DiCaprio's interest in playing Turing.[23][24][25] In the end, DiCaprio did not officially come on board and the rights of the script reverted to the screenwriter which was then picked up by Black Bear Pictures.[11][26] Various directors were attached during development including Ron Howard and David Yates.[27]

Bletchley Park, "the home of the codebreakers" where parts of the film were shot

In December 2012, it was announced that Headhunters director Morten Tyldum will lead the project, making the film his English-language directorial debut.[28]

Principal photography began on 15 September 2013 in England. Filming locations include Turing's former school, Sherborne and Bletchley Park where Turing and his colleagues worked during the war. Other locations include towns in England; Nettlebed in Oxfordshire, and Chesham in Buckinghamshire.[29] Scenes were also filmed at Bicester Airfield and outside the Law Society Building in Chancery Lane.[30] Principal photography finished on 11 November 2013.

The film is a recipient of Tribeca Film Festival's Sloan Filmmaker Fund which grants filmmakers funding and guidance with regards to innovative films that are concerned with science, mathematics, and technology.[31]

In June 2014, it was announced that Alexandre Desplat will provide the original score of the film.[3]

The title of the film is a reference to Turing's proposed test of the same name discussed in his seminal 1950 paper on artificial intelligence entitled Computing Machinery and Intelligence. The test aims to answer the question "Can machines think?"[32]

Marketing and theatrical release

Following the Royal Pardon granted by the United Kingdom to Alan Turing on 24 December 2013, the filmmakers released the first official promotional photograph of Benedict Cumberbatch in character beside Turing's bombe machine on the same day.[4][33] On Turing's death anniversary week in June 2014, Entertainment Weekly released two new stills which marked the first look on the characters played by Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Matthew Beard and Allen Leech.[34] On Turing's 102nd birthday on 23 June, Empire released two photographs featuring Mark Strong and Charles Dance in character.[35] Promotional stills were taken by acclaimed photographer Jack English, who also photographed Cumberbatch for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

"The only person who should be pardoning anybody is him (Turing). Hopefully, the film will bring to the fore what an extraordinary human being he was and how appalling (his treatment by the government was). It's a really shameful, disgraceful part of our history."

—Benedict Cumberbatch, in a USA Today interview when asked about Turing's Royal Pardon[36]

At BookExpo America 2014, Princeton University Press announced that a tie-in edition of Andrew Hodges's biography Alan Turing: The Enigma will be published in September 2014 under the title The Imitation Game.[37]

The UK and US trailers were both released on 22 July 2014.[38] The international teaser poster was released on 18 September 2014 with the tagline, "The true enigma was the man who cracked the code."[39] The second trailer was released on 2 October 2014.[40]

The film had its world premiere at the 41st Telluride Film Festival in August, it featured at the 39th Toronto International Film Festival in September, where it won the "People's Choice Award for Best Film". It had its European premiere as the opening film of the 58th BFI London Film Festival on October 2014.[14][15] It will be released theatrically on 21 November 2014 in the United States, a week after its premiere in the United Kingdom on 14 November.[1][16]

Reception

The film has received positive reviews with critics particularly lauding Cumberbatch's lead performance as Turing.[41] It currently holds an 87% approval rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 7.5/10 based on 30 reviews.[42] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100, the film has a score of 71 based on 9 reviews.[43]

Kaleem Aftab of The Independent gave the film a five-star review hailing it the "Best British Film of the Year."[44] Lou Lumenick of the New York Post described it as a "thoroughly engrossing Oscar-caliber movie" with critic James Rocchi adding that the film is "strong, stirring, triumphant and tragic."[45] Empire described it as a "superb thriller" with Glamour declaring it "an instant classic."[46][47] Peter Debruge of Variety added that the film is "beautifully written, elegantly mounted and poignantly performed."[48] Critic Scott Foundas stated that the "movie is undeniably strong in its sense of a bright light burned out too soon, and the often undignified fate of those who dare to chafe at society's established norms."[49] In addition, praise was also given to Keira Knightley's supporting performance as Joan Clarke, William Goldenberg's editing, Alexandre Desplat's score, Óscar Faura's cinematography and Maria Djurkovic's production design.[50]The film was also enthusiastically received at Telluride Film Festival and won the "People's Choice Award for Best Film" at TIFF, the highest prize of the fest with the film joining the ranks of Academy Award winners Slumdog Millionaire, The King's Speech and 12 Years A Slave which also won the honour in their respective years.[51][52]

Cumberbatch signing autographs at TIFF, September 2014

As Turing, Cumberbatch's performance was universally acclaimed with critic Clayton Davis stating it's a "performance for the ages... proving he's one of the best actors working today."[53][54] Foundas of Variety stated that Cumberbatch's acting is "masterful... a marvel to watch" with Manohla Dargis of The New York Times describing it as "delicately nuanced, prickly and tragic" and Owen Gleiberman of the BBC proclaiming it an "emotionally tailored perfection."[55][56] It's "a storming performance from Cumberbatch: you’ll be deciphering his work long after the credits roll" declared Dave Calhoun of Time Out.[57] The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy wrote that the undeniable highlight of the film was Cumberbatch "whose charisma, tellingly modulated and naturalistic array of eccentricities, talent at indicating a mind never at rest and knack for simultaneously portraying physical oddness and attractiveness combine to create an entirely credible portrait of genius at work."[58] Reviewers also noted that this is the actor's career-best performance to date.[59] Critic Roger Friedman wrote at the end of his review that "Cumberbatch may be the closest thing we have to a real descendant of Sir Laurence Olivier."[60]

Despite praising the performances of Cumberbatch and Knightley, Catherine Shoard of The Guardian stated that the film is "too formulaic, too efficient at simply whisking you through and making sure you've clocked the diversity message..."[61] Tim Robey of The Telegraph meanwhile described it as "a film about a human calculator which feels... a little too calculated."[62] Some critics also raised concerns about the lack of sex scenes in the film to highlight Turing's homosexuality.[63]

Controversy

During production, there was criticism regarding the film's alleged downplaying and erasure of Alan Turing's homosexuality,[64] particularly condemning his relationship with close friend and one-time fiancée Joan Clarke as portrayed in the film. Andrew Hodges, a biographer of Turing, described the script as having "built up the relationship with Joan much more than it actually was",[65] and Turing's surviving niece Inagh Payne thought that Keira Knightley was inappropriately cast as Clarke, who she described as having been "rather plain".[66]

"There is not – and never has been – a version of our script where Alan Turing is anything other than homosexual, nor have we included fictitious sex scenes"

—Producers of the film on criticisms[67]

Speaking to Empire, director Morten Tyldum expressed his decision on directing the film; "It is such a complex story. It was the gay rights element, but also how his (Turing's) ideas were kept secret and how incredibly important his work was during the war, that he was never given credit for it."[35]

In an interview for GQ UK, Matthew Goode who plays a fellow cryptographer of Turing in the film, stated that the script focuses on "Turing's life and how as a nation we celebrated him as being a hero by chemically castrating him because he was gay."[68]

Accolades

Awards
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients and nominees Result
39th Toronto International Film Festival[69] 14 September 2014 People's Choice Award for Best Film The Imitation Game Won
2014 Hamptons International Film Festival[70] 24 September 2014 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize The Imitation Game Won
2014 Hamptons International Film Festival[71] 14 October 2014 Narrative Competition Audience Award The Imitation Game Won
2014 Aspen Film Festival[72] 02 October 2014 Special Audience Recognition Award The Imitation Game Won
2014 San Diego Film Festival[73] 03 October 2014 Best Gala Film The Imitation Game Won
2014 Scottsdale International Film Festival[74] 14 October 2014 Audience Award for Best Film The Imitation Game Won
2014 Mill Valley Film Festival[75] 14 October 2014 Overall Audience Favorite The Imitation Game Won
2014 Hollywood Music in Media Awards[76] TBA Original Score - Feature Film Alexandre Desplat Pending

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Imitation Game (2014)". Box Office Mojo. 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  2. ^ Bailey, Cameron (2014). "The Imitation Game". TIFF.net. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Alexandre Desplat Takes Over Scoring Duties on 'The Imitation Game'". Film Music Reporter. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Sneider, Jeff (26 December 2013). "Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in First Look at 'The Imitation Game' (Photo)". TheWrap. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b Kit, Borys (4 June 2013). "Keira Knightley to Star Opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in 'Imitation Game'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  6. ^ "The Imitation Game". The Weinstein Company. 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
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  8. ^ Copeland, Jack (19 June 2012). "Alan Turing: The codebreaker who saved 'millions of lives'". BBC News. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  9. ^ Hanks, E.A. (27 September 2013). "How Benedict Cumberbatch And Alan Turing Helped A Writer Find Success In Hollywood". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  10. ^ Mack, Andrew (13 December 2012). "Tyldum Leaves TORDENSKIOLD Biopic Afloat. Instead, Will Decrypt THE IMITATION GAME". Twitch. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  11. ^ a b Fleming, Mike (16 December 2011). "Warner Bros Sets Black List Top Scribe Graham Moore For 'Devil In The White City'; Leonardo DiCaprio To Play Serial Killer". Deadline. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  12. ^ Child, Ben (13 December 2011). "Hollywood's 'Black List' of best unproduced scripts of 2011 revealed". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  13. ^ Fleming, Mike (7 February 2014). "Harvey Weinstein Pays Record $7 Million For 'Imitation Game' Movie". Deadline. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  14. ^ a b Zuckerman, Esther (28 August 2014). "Telluride Film Festival lineup includes 'Wild,' 'The Imitation Game'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  15. ^ a b Vivarelli, Nick (21 July 2014). "'The Imitation Game' to Open BFI London Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  16. ^ a b STUDIOCANAL UK (13 May 2014). "Delighted to announce Alan Turing #movie THE IMITATION GAME ŵ Benedict Cumberbatch will have it's UK release on Nov 14th 2014 @tigmovie". Twitter. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  17. ^ Powell, Lucy (2014). "The Imitation Game". Optimum Releasing. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  18. ^ Puchko, Kristy (17 June 2013). "Matthew Goode Joins Benedict Cumberbatch For Alan Turing Biopic". Cinemablend. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  19. ^ Chitwood, Adam (September 2013). "Mark Strong Joins THE IMITATION GAME, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson Lead LEARNING TO DRIVE". Collider. Retrieved 10 September 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  20. ^ Kroll, Justin (27 August 2013). "'Downton Abbey' Actor Allen Leech Joins Cumberbatch in 'Imitation Game'". Variety. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  21. ^ Kemp, Stuart (16 September 2013). "Matthew Goode, Mark Strong and Rory Kinnear Join Cast of 'The Imitation Game'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
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  23. ^ Fleming, Mike (1 February 2013). "Benedict Cumberbatch In Talks To Play Alan Turing In 'The Imitation Game'". Deadline. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  24. ^ Lussier, Germain (16 September 2013). "'The Imitation Game' Begins Filming With Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley". Slash Film. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  25. ^ Finke, Nikki (11 October 2011). "Warner Bros Buys Spec Script About Math Genius Alan Turing For Leonardo DiCaprio". Deadline. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  26. ^ Trumbore, Dave (August 2012). "Leonardo DiCaprio Exits THE IMITATION GAME; Warner Bros. Backs Out of the Alan Turing Project". Collider. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  27. ^ Fleming, Mike (14 November 2011). "David Yates Develops 'Dr. Who,' As Warner Bros Tempts Him With 'Imitation Game'". deadline.com. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
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  30. ^ "Sherlock's on the trail of a new movie blockbuster". The Oxford Times. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
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  33. ^ The Imitation Game (24 December 2013). "In honor of today's Royal Pardon, please find the first still released from the upcoming film, The Imitation Game". Twitter. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  34. ^ Sperling, Nicole (5 June 2014). "Benedict Cumberbatch outwits Nazis in 'The Imitation Game' -- FIRST LOOK". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  35. ^ a b de Semlyen, Phil (23 June 2014). "New Stills Of Benedict Cumberbatch And Keira Knightley In The Imitation Game". Empire. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  36. ^ Keveney, Bill (29 January 2014). "Benedict Cumberbatch's very big year". USA Today. McLean, VA: Gannett. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  37. ^ Dougherty, Peter (3 June 2014). "June, summer, and Princeton University Press in the movies". blog.press.princeton.edu. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  38. ^ "The Imitation Game will open the 58th BFI London Film Festival". British Film Institute. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  39. ^ "New Teaser Poster For The Imitation Game Arrives Online - Movie News - Empire". empireonline.com. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  40. ^ "Video: Watch: new trailer for The Imitation Game, with Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing - Telegraph". Telegraph.co.uk. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
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  43. ^ "The Imitation Game Reviews - Metacritic". Retrieved 7 October 2014.
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  51. ^ "'Imitation Game' wins the festival and 7 other takeaways from Telluride 2014". Yahoo TV. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
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  54. ^ "Film Review: The Imitation Game (★★★★)". AwardsCircuit.com - By Clayton Davis. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
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  61. ^ "The Imitation Game review: Knightley and Cumberbatch impress, but historical spoilers lower the tension". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  62. ^ Tim Robey (9 September 2014). "The Imitation Game, review: 'clever, calculated'". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  63. ^ "The Imitation Game is strangely shy about Alan Turing's sexuality". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  64. ^ Lucas, Harriet (31 July 2013). "Comment: Hollywood should stay true to the real story of Alan Turing". Pink News. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  65. ^ Day, Aaron (24 June 2013). "Alan Turing's biographer criticises upcoming biopic for downplaying gay identity". Pink News. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  66. ^ Lazarus, Susanna (19 November 2013). "Imitation Game filmmakers accused of romanticising the relationship between Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley's characters by Alan Turing's niece Inagh Payne". Radio Times. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  67. ^ Roberts, Scott (19 August 2013). "Producers of Alan Turing film reject criticism of project". Pink News. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  68. ^ Carvell, Nick (25 June 2013). "Matthew Goode announced as new face of Hogan Shoes". GQ Magazine. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
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  70. ^ "HIFF Awards Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize to 'The Imitation Game'". Dan's Papers. Retrieved 7 October 2014. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 19 (help)
  71. ^ Competition Audience Award Winner/'The Imitation Game http://hamptonsfilmfest.org/2014/10/hiff-awards-Narrative Competition Audience Award Winner/'The Imitation Game. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  72. ^ "'The Imitation Game' wins Special Audience Recognition Awards in Aspen". Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  73. ^ "'The Imitation Game' wins Best Gala Film". San Diego Film Festival. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  74. ^ "'The Imitation Game' wins Audience Award for Best Film". Scottsdale International Film Festival. October 2014. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  75. ^ {{cite web}}: Empty citation (help)
  76. ^ "Hollywood Music Media Awards". http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/guardians-of-the-galaxy-gone-girl-interstellar-scores-get-a-jump-on-awards-season#mhgCEDMI4oKCHXp5.99. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
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