The Imitation Game (2014)
92%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
49 wins & 165 nominations total
With an outstanding starring performance from Benedict Cumberbatch illuminating its fact-based story, The Imitation Game serves as an eminently well-made entry in the “prestige biopic” genre.
The Imitation Game” is like a crossword puzzle come to life, with Benedict Cumberbatch as the ultimate solver. It’s a biopic that manages to be both thrilling and emotional, with a cast that brings the story of Alan Turing to vivid life. Sure, there are some simplifications and omissions, but overall it’s a fascinating look at a brilliant mind and the struggles he faced. Plus, who doesn’t love a good code-breaking montage?
Production Company(ies)
Brandywine Productions,
Distributor
Weinstein Co.
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Sherborne School, Sherborne, Dorset, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some sexual references, mature thematic material and historical smoking
Year of Release
2014
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 53m
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Language(s):English, German
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 2014 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 31, 2015
Genre(s)
Biography/Lgbtq+
Keyword(s)
starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Allen Leech, Matthew Beard, directed by Morten Tyldum, written by Graham Moore, biography, LGBTQ+, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jason Bailey, Mara Reinstein, David Stratton, Richard Corliss, Elaine Teng, Philippa Hawker, Ben Turner, David Walsh, Richard Crouse, Nicole Ackman, Mike Massie, Nicholas Bell, PG-13, Alan Turing, Joan Clarke, Hugh Alexander, Det Robert Nock, John Cairncross, Peter Hilton, Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman, Weinstein Co
Worldwide gross: $233,555,708
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $291,885,597
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 515
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 31,830,490
US/Canada gross: $91,125,683
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $113,884,069
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 659
US/Canada opening weekend: $479,352
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $599,069
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,363
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $14,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $17,496,461
Production budget ranking: 1,434
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $9,421,844
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $264,967,292
ROI to date (est.): 984%
ROI ranking: 127
Keira Knightley – Joan Clarke
Matthew Goode – Hugh Alexander
Rory Kinnear – Det. Robert Nock
Allen Leech – John Cairncross
Matthew Beard – Peter Hilton
Director(s)
Morten Tyldum
Writer(s)
Graham Moore
Producer(s)
Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
49 wins & 165 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (285) | Top Critics (80) | Fresh (255) | Rotten (30)
Cumberbatch helps elevate what could’ve been a rote boilerplate biopic into a film with the spark of a live wire.
June 7, 2016
Jason Bailey
Flavorwire
TOP CRITIC
A moving tribute to an extraordinary man.
January 19, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mara Reinstein
Us Weekly
TOP CRITIC
What could have been a very dry and earnest film emerges, under the intelligent direction of Norwegian Morten Tyldum working from a screenplay by Graham Moore, as a gripping and still rather extraordinary story.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
The “action” here is Turing tinkering with his machine. Or simply thinking — which, as Cumberbatch portrays it, is adventure of the highest order.
January 4, 2015
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
We go into a movie knowing that the subject was as genius or a hero, a martyr or titan. We should leave with a more nuanced understanding of who he was, his complexities and flaws.
January 4, 2015
Elaine Teng
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
For the filmmakers, there are simplifications that must have been inevitable, for dramatic and narrative purposes, when it comes to depicting the years of wartime work. But what of the other choices that have been made?
January 4, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Philippa Hawker
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
With its focus on the internal struggle as significant as the code-breaking itself, it sets it apart from its Bletchley Park predecessor, the decidedly wet Enigma.
September 2, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Ben Turner
The Pink Lens
The film deserves credit for pointing viewers in the direction of such a compelling individual and historical drama.
February 12, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
Supporting cast and period production values are top notch, but it’s Cumberbatch who excels, peeling back the layers of Turing’s enigmatic life.
February 2, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
Richard Crouse
Richard Crouse
Unfortunately, the film suffers from a weak script that fails to properly educate the audience about Turing…and it also downplays Turing’s homosexuality.
January 30, 2021 | Rating: 5/10
Nicole Ackman
Next Best Picture
Manages a surmounting level of intrigue from both its deft performances and its shuffling narrative of past, present, and post-war events.
December 4, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The accolades bestowed on this otherwise well mounted but incredibly milquetoast production is the political statement that the film simply does not have the courage to muster on its own.
October 28, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com…
Plot
It is based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing. The film portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant 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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Alan Turing is described as a “live wire” and helps elevate the film from being a “rote boilerplate biopic.”
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