On a Scale of 1 to 10 with 10 Being the Best
8
 |
| Courtesy of Pinterest |
Plot: A meticulous intelligent man decides to work for the British Government during World War II. His goal is to break the best coding machine in the world owned by the Nazis called enigma. Alan Turing is a mathematician who has only loved his work and his childhood friend. He has to learn to work with others, how to build the world's first computer, and dealing with the British Government's laws on homosexuality. I thought it was a good film and then the water works came out of me during one of the closing scenes. This is based off of the sad true story of a great man who died far too soon.
Characters/Actors of Note:
Benedict Cumberbatch playing Alan Turing: I thought that Mr. Cumberbatch did such a great job with this movie. His mannerisms, speech, and attitude was so believable and touching. The scene that Mr. Cumberbatch cries, I too cried. Crying is not something I do often and tried to hold back. It was just not possible to hold back the feelings though. The amount of research he did and the emotion he could evoke from me was simply amazing. Superb job.
Keira Knightley playing Joan Clarke: Ms. Knightley also did a superb job in this film. Her character not only had the stress of breaking enigma but had to deal with the sexism at the time. She was told not to do math as it was a male profession and when she got the job, she was told to quit to get married. There is a great scene with Ms. Knightley and Mr. Cumberbatch where he wants her to leave. She demands to stay saying, "This work is the most important thing I will ever do." She was such a powerful presence on the screen and her lines were just so beautifully delivered. Two thumbs up.
Music: The music was intriguing. They made the music sound like a computer working. I love the piano and the strings that they used. A lot of thought went into orchestrating the soundtrack, which is perfect for a movie about breaking codes. It is a bit slow in parts. Perhaps because computers were slow back then and they are trying to imitate that? (No pun intended.) The pace could have quickened.
Camera Work/Cinematography: This is where the movie suffered. There were many weird unnecessary cuts in the film. They included black and white film of prestigious leaders and how the war affected the English populace but then they included (or should I say tried to include) special effects. The special effects were just awful. They looked bulky and out of place especially when they had scenes with the black and white film with the special effects right after. It was cheesy looking to have both in the film. If those special effects and black and white film were cut, nothing would be lost to the audience. It would have been better without them. The majority of the film was done in a high definition way (much like Unbroken) with heavy tints of black and red. I would say that the film needed more brown and yellows. I would also say the filming should have been done more like Cinderella Man.
RECAP:
This movie is educating, heart wrenching, and beautifully acted. It suffers in cinematography but the music is not too bad. The story was well written and true to form according to Alan Turing's family. A great World War II movie to watch with anybody, not just the hard-core war fans.
 |
| Courtesy of mrssmaug.tumblr.com |
Want me to critique a movie? Comment below!
