“Normal? The world is an infinitely better place precisely because you weren’t”

The Imitation Game.

So i’ve FINALLY seen it!

I actually saw it on November 10th but wanted to wait until my second viewing (the friday of the same week) before i made a proper attempt at saying anything here.

I am going to make an extremely conscious effort to limit myself because i will waffle for the rest of my life about this if given the chance.

This film..is absolutely stunning. Gorgeous, heartbreaking, funny, inspirational…as is the man the story is about. I’ve been following this film for a while and one of the best decisions i have ever made was to go and find out more about Alan Turing. He is a truly TRULY brilliant, genius, lovely and heroic man (why use one adjective where 12 will do eh). I think the most important thing this film does is finally brings his story to an audience and Turing is finally starting to get some of the recognition he truly deserves. I honestly get emotional just thinking about him, if they ever invent time travel he’ll be my first stop.

One issue…okay this isn’t even an issue…certainly not with the film..it’s my issue…as i say i delved quite deeply into the story of Alan Turing before i saw this film and i’ve yet to decide if that was an advantage or a disadvantage. I will admit upon my first viewing of the film, a lot of my concentration was on seeing what parts of the story they actually put in the film and what changes were made. I think of course there was going to be some artistic license and some simplifications of the story, and i think when they do that they do it really well.

I had the odd niggles in the back of my mind going “oh i wish they’d told more of the story there..there’s so much more to that” but if they did that where i wanted them to the film would be ten hours long. Also with a few adjustments and changes (completely understandable for dramatic effect) sometimes i thought “oh…oh that’s not quite right..i feel like i have to tell people that’s not completely accurate” but you know what that’s me being INCREDIBLY picky.

That’s why i waited until my second viewing to do this. Once i’d come to terms with what was in it, i could sit and just enjoy it fully and goodness do i enjoy this film. It is absolutely remarkable and if there isn’t a large amount of recognition at the Oscars then nothing is right with the world!

In following the promotion of this film i can see every member of the cast and crew are so passionate about Alan Turing’s story and seem to have fallen in love with him just as everyone does when they hear about him. They wanted to do it right, do it well and wanted to get the story out there.

Benedict Cumberbatch, well..he’s just stunning isn’t he? Absolutely melts away into his characters and Turing is no exception. It is Alan you’re watching, not Benedict. And on a personal note as a big fan of Benedict’s I would just like to say how lucky we are that a man with such immense talent, such passion and care for the story he is telling and such a wide reach of admiration and influence, is at the forefront of this film. He knows the importance of this man and his story and goes to every length to make sure his life and achievements have been recognised (seriously, have you heard him talk about Alan? goes on for days it’s brilliant).

The whole cast is brilliant! Seriously fantastic! But i have to mention Keira Knightley because (i can’t believe i’m about to say this) she really surprised me. Don’t get me wrong i absolutely adore her as a person i have such a girl crush on her and i want to be best friends with her asap please and i admit now i’ve not seen everything she’s in so this is mainly a hugely ignorant comment but i have been known to think she was rather….same-y in things. I mean..hardly her fault..i suppose a lot of her characters can be seen as quite similar (again..by someone as ignorant as myself) but i must admit i did wonder if her Joan Clarke (another person to look up by the way..she is AWESOME! Girl power!) would slot into the sort of “same-y” image i had built up in my head. It really didn’t. She was magnificent. And the more i see her in the promotion the more i love her and i think i’ll make myself go back and watch her other work again.

One more thing! Alex Lawther who plays young Alan Turing, watch out for this kid because he is fantastic! He’s such a lovely lad and it’s so sweet hearing him talk about the film. What mainly stuck with me was how well he not only portrayed young Alan, but portrayed a young version of Benedict’s Alan. He seriously is brilliant.

Anyway…that was apparently me limiting myself so i do apologise for the waffle.

Also if you see the film…bring tissues…seriously i was a complete sobbing mess by the end of it…both viewings.

Oh! And buy the soundtrack. I actually have it on right now. Alexandre Desplat knocks it out of the park once again! It is seriously..beyond beautiful.