One of the greatest men of the 20th Century finally gets some mainstream recognition - or
at least that’s the plan. You’re watching Beyond The Trailer’s review of The Imitation Game.
Right now, you’re watching this video on your computer - be it a desktop, laptop or
your phone which is actually now a computer. In fact, Beyond The Trailer is a webshow,
made specifically for computers. And none of this would likely exist without the work
of Alan Turing. Who? Ah, and that’s exactly the problem, as both Turing’s professional
life and personal life were not something the British government wanted you to know
about. Professionally he was a code breaker at the famed Bletchley Park during World War
2. Turing not only broke the Nazi code, but did so with a machine that he invented which
would eventually become the modern day computer. Personally, Turing was gay - at a time when
homosexuality was considered a criminal offense in the UK. It’s important for you to discover
Turing’s fate yourself while watching this film - but know that what the British government
did to him, the same government who hired him as a codebreaker, was so atrocious that
in 2009 Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued an official public apology - and then in 2013
The Queen granted him a posthumous pardon. And who better to portray Alan Turing than
a man who has quickly become a British icon himself, Benedict Cumberbatch? But guess what?
Leonardo DiCaprio was originally set to play Turing for Warner Brothers, yet decided to
pass on this script. How many close calls with Oscar does this guy have to have?! Yes,
The Imitation Game is considered a hot Oscar contender, not just because of the subject
matter and star, but because it’s being carefully shepherded by Oscar whisperer Harvey
Weinstein. Yet the portrayal of another brilliant British mind, Stephen Hawking in The Theory
of Everything, has emerged as hot competitor for this year’s Oscars. Ironically, Cumberbatch
himself portrayed Hawking back in 2004 for the BBC, for which he received his first BAFTA
nomination. Both he and fellow Brit Eddie Redmayne will almost certainly be nominated
for Best Actor at almost every awards ceremony this year, yet right now Redmayne is favored
to win. Yes, while he is a huge hit on the small screen, Cumberbatch has had some difficulty
transitioning the big screen. This was supposed to help considerably, but... Behind the camera
is Norway’s Morten Tyldum, making his English language debut here. Tyldum got on Weinstein’s
radar by directing the most successful native film of all time in Norway, corporate thriller
Headhunters. This is also the very first feature length screenplay by Graham Moore, which topped
Hollywood’s famed Black List in 2011. So, will Alan Turing - and Benedict Cumberbatch
- finally get the widespread recognition they deserve? Or will they continue to only be
niche figures
in both science
and entertainment...?