The Imitation Game, film review: Benedict Cumberbatch set for Oscar nod as Alan Turing

Benedict Cumberbatch is odds-on to be nominated for an Oscar (at the very least) for his brilliant turn as Alan Turing, the Second World War code-breaker who in 1951 was convicted for gross indecency over a homosexual act.

It’s the performance of his career in what is also the best British film of the year.
The action starts in Manchester in 1951. Turing’s house has just been burgled but something is amiss with the crime scene, which arouses the suspicion of Detective Robert Nock (Rory Kinnear), who hauls Turing in for an interrogation.

The story then takes the form of a series of flashbacks focusing on Turing’s schooldays and, for the main bulk of the film, his activities during the war.

From the off Cumberbatch depicts Turing as an odd chap. In an amusing scene in which he’s being interviewed at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, Turing takes every word literally, much to the chagrin of Commander Alastair Denniston (Charles Dance).

He frustrates his new colleagues with his oddball habits, refusing to partake in camaraderie or join them for lunch, and decrying their attempts to break the German Enigma code.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-imitation-game-film-review-benedict-cumberbatch-set-for-oscar-nod-as-alan-turing-9719177.html