During World War II, Alan Turing played a pivotal role in cracking the Enigma cipher. His work and life has been immortalised in the film, ‘The Imitation Game’. Many believe that his work saved countless lives and allowed the war to end in 1945, rather than any later.

The movie, ‘The Imitation Game’ depicts Alan Turing’s life and work.

Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the wartime codebreaker and computer genius, Alan Turing. Alongside Benedict, Kiera Knightley plays Joan Clarke, who was a mathematician and fellow cryptanalyst of Turing. Morten Tyldum is the director of The Imitation Game, and it was produced by Teddy Schwarzman. Also, Alexandre Desplat led the Music of the film and Graham Moore on the screenplay.

Alan Turing's blank military record arouses the suspicion of Detective Robert Nock (Rory Kinnear). Also, Mark Strong plays Stewart Menzies. There were also 3 main others who worked on the Enigma Code, Peter Hilton (played by Matthew Beard), John Cairncross (acted by Allen Leech), and Hugh Alexander (played by Matthew Goode).

Overall, this movie was an excellent eye-opener to the struggle and achievements of Alan Turing during the war, and it was an exceptional depiction and portrayal of his life and work. It also importantly raised the audience’s awareness of gay rights and the treatment of gay men in the 1940s and 1950s.

I interviewed a viewer of The Imitation Game, who said that they “thoroughly enjoyed the movie as it was filled with great actors who portrayed the characters very well and had us emotionally gripped.” Another viewer said that “The Imitation Game was a genuinely fascinating biopic detailing the life of an incredible individual, who shaped the world as we know it.”

Christina Rajendram

Newstead Wood School