Besides the one for Marion Cotillard, this year’s Oscar nominations are again predictable. We hope that Birdman by Alejandro González Iñárritu ( the best film you can see in 2015) will be the big winner, but something makes us think that The Imitation Game by Morten Tyldum (the Norwegian director of the much underrated Headhunters ) will take the statues home. Do not get us wrong, The Imitation Game is a decent film (and even more than that), it is only a very safe one that never goes outside the lines.
This classic biopic is about the mathematician Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch). The man should be a hero in a perfect world, but he took his own life because the British authorities accused him of obscenities because of his homosexuality. Turing is a shy prodigy who invented a machine that cracked the Enigma code (a language that was used by the Germans to communicate about their targets). Historians claim that thanks to this invention, the Second World War has lasted two years less, and that Turing saved thousands of lives.
You could say that The Imitation Game is this year’s The King's Speech: solid performances with Benedict Cumberbatch in a starring role, and of course Keira Knightley, who play once again a typical British girl with an anarchic character. About Morten Tyldums approach we are less satisfied. The Norwegian just does what he must do, but for example the inner monster which Turing has to deal with (his fight against his gay sexuality - you could end up in a prison cell in the beginning of the 50s in England for that) is made in a sweet crunchy Disney way. Even more, Tydlum sees that part almost as a detail that he is obliged to pay attention to. Do not expect espionage intrigues (although there is a double agent in the organization) or complicated dialogues about codes. No, The Imitation Game is almost an innocent costume drama with the Second World War as a background. Very decent, but a little too sweet. An 007 for the Oscars!