Man vs. Machine

"The Imitation Game"

By: Susan Christmas

“The Imitation Game,” is a movie, which delves into the secrets of World War II Britain and the untold story of Alan Turing. This movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch along with Keira Knightly, delves into the obtuse life of Alan Turing and the indispensible work he contributed in breaking the Nazi Enigma code that helped the Allied forces ultimately win the war.  This streamlined structure presents an old story in a contemporary way, highlighting the complexity of Alan Turing’s life as well as its present-day implications.  

In the 1930’s Turing published his own academic papers in which he claimed to have an idea for a “universal machine.” This machine that he works on throughout the movie as a solution to the Enigma code, along with his theories on digitization were the incredible beginnings that would eventually lead to a device called the computer. This device of Turing’s creation brings in complex science and unearths layers of information for the purposes of breaking the Nazi code. In the same way, the movie delves into the layers of Turing’s life, interweaving three separate parts of his story that in the end show us who he really was. One big hook in this film is the unveiling of Turing’s homosexuality for which he was arrested for in 1952 under indecency charges. This secret that he holds is embedded in three storylines of Turing’s childhood, his time at Bletchley circle during the war, and in the interrogation room following his arrest.

Turing’s original papers he published outlining his idea of the “universal machine” reveal the underlying, yet distinct theme of Man vs. Machine. As we follow his post arrest interview, he explains how he recognizes whether something or someone is a man or a machine based on a few questions. This idea that he’s creating a machine to replace man plays right into the paradox throughout the movie. As we follow Turing’s time spent at Bletchley and in school, we are able to begin realizing that maybe there are some men who have been conditioned to be machines—soulless and without consciousness of humanity.

“The Imitation Game” begins as a biotic, but as the story unfolds, it becomes a tragic drama following the gross injustice of both the work of Alan Turing as well as the impersonal treatment of his personal life. This movie is artfully crafted to portray the life of a man whom history forgot and society shunned. This movie is eerily visionary in both scientific and social developments that we have and are experiencing in modern history. Cumberbatch captures Turing’s high intelligence, tragic obsession, and peculiarity brilliantly as “The Imitation Game” seeks to uncover the life of one of history’s most vital players.

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The Imitation Game

Now Playing

Directed by Morten Tyldum; written by Graham Moore, based on the book by Andrew Hodges; music by Alexandre Desplat. Running time: 1 hour 54 minutes.

WITH: Benedict Cumberbatch (Alan Turing), Keira Knightley (Joan Clarke), Matthew Goode (Hugh Alexander), Mark Strong (Stewart Menzies), Rory Kinnear (Detective Robert Nock), Charles Dance (Commander Denniston), Allen Leech (John Cairncross), Matthew Beard (Peter Hilton) and Alex Lawther (Young Alan).