Just a Few Opinions About 'The Imitation Game' [2014]

 "I'm not a spy, I'm a mathematician."

The other day, I watched a movie, The Imitation Game.
And the movie surprised me, a bit. There were some things about it that I didn't expect. So, I wanted to write a post about it, for your enjoyment.
Here we go.

Let's Start Off With a Disclaimer: 
I'm not going to recommend this movie to you to watch if your family has young children, unless members in your family are, say, 16-ish or older. Or whoever is old enough to view things like homosexuality in a movie with a fresh, biblical perspective. This is not your "Family Movie Night" kind of movie. With that being said, it is a good idea that every movie you wish to watch with your family in your own home be reviewed first by a reputable 'Christian worldview' movie site such as Plugged In Online, which my family has been reading for years.
This is just my suggestion, of course, and I understand that every family is different in the way they do things.
Anyways, you will probably understand/agree with me more after you read my opinions here.

In light of that, let us continue!
Here are my opinions about The Imitation Game, starring  Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Allen Leech, plus more.
The overview:
Alan Turing, a British scientist and mathematician (who was also a homosexual), and his team have to break a system of 'unbreakable' Nazi codes by building a machine (a.k.a. 'the world's first digital computer) that will analyze and decipher German Enigma messages in order to win WWII.

Let's begin with a few notes on talent:
1. Brilliant acting
Everyone played their role incredibly well, in my opinion. I always love a movie where the acting is on par. It makes such a difference. Sometimes people say I have high standards when I (occasionally) say I don't like a movie because it has bad acting.
But for real, good acting can seriously make all the difference in the world, in spite of how good the story might be in itself.

Also, on acting:
2. Keira Knightley surprised me
I gotta be honest: Keira Knightley has never blown me away with a role. I guess it's because the only films I've seen her in have never done much for me. I don't like any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies,  and you all know my opinion about Pride & Prejudice 2005, which isn't a HORRIBLE movie, but like I said, 'it doesn't do much for me.' 
I was surprisingly pleased by the good job Knightley did with this role in particular. I even, shall I say, enjoyed watching her. It could've been her chemistry while acting with Benedict Cumberbatch that did the trick, or perhaps she was just acting better than normal.
I also really appreciated her character (a.k.a. who was actually a real person, but we'll call her a 'character'). She was very supportive and understanding, able to do a hard day's work, but also smart as any man. That is what I call a good strong female character that isn't annoying or sexualized!

3. The story overall
I have to mention the overall telling of this story.
I feel like it deserves more than just to say 'it was done well'. I say that the story was interesting, kept me un-bored, flowed nicely, wasn't confusing (for the most part), as well as historically pleasing. Meaning, historical in a way that is enjoyable yet sad (at the same time) without being too morbid, as some war movies tend to be.
Yes, I just made up that term, 'historically pleasing'. It's like 'aesthetically pleasing' but with history. Do you like it?  :)
Anyways. Just in the case of the story itself, it was a good movie from that standpoint as well.

Now I shall get into some (*ahem*) 'other' stuff.
4. The movie didn't go 'overboard' with the gay stuff
There is one thing in particular (apart from all the good things I've already said about it) that stood out and really impressed me about this movie.
While it is the story of a homosexual man, the movie COULD'VE taken a whole lot more 'creative liberty' with the homosexual details, but it didn't. I mean, his lifestyle was apparent and pervading throughout the movie, but it could've shown a lot of things.
It could've shown him with other men (*cough*), but it didn't, and in another part, during a friendship story that the movie told between young Turing and another boy at his school (while it was clear the boys were 'very fond' of each other), it could've portrayed their friendship much more intimately, but... it didn't.

I guess I was impressed that this movie was actually able to tell the story according to history while not 'spicing things up' like they could have. And I respect that. Especially since our culture and society really pushes and supports the lifestyle, this movie was just telling a story. A good story.
That's why I do not consider The Imitation Game 'A Gay Movie', but rather 'A Movie About a Man Who Happened to be Gay But Also Did Some Other Stuff'.
You know what I mean? There is a difference.
In fact, the only thing to watch out for as far as 'explicit gay content' is just one comment Turing makes at one point in the movie about his activities with another man. It was definitely cringe-worthy, but other than that, 'content-to-watch-out-for' is almost (almost) nonexistent in this movie.

Basically though, this one thought alone is what made me want to write a review post on this movie.
Maybe I am easy to please, but it sure impressed me.

Don't get me wrong, of course. I'm not into 'gay movies' now.
You might remember that I didn't watch Beauty & The Beast for a long time after it came out because of the whole 'openly gay character' thing.
I still don't agree with the homosexual lifestyle (same as I don't agree with stealing or lying or cheating or ANY sin).
But if you'll notice, BatB was sort of... making fun of the whole thing. They were, in fact, playing with it.
Whereas, The Imitation Game was simply a true-story depiction. As in, this really happened. And they're telling the story about it.
It would be one thing if I were watching the movie because I support gay people. It would also be one thing if I was watching the movie because I enjoy gay characters.

No, no.

I watched this movie because
1. I love historical movies (at least the ones that are 99% clean),
2. I like WWII stories that don't just involve the battlefield and the gestapo and people hiding Jews,
3. I wanted to watch this movie when I first saw it come out because it looked interesting back then,
4. I don't think it's right that people back then were so hateful to homosexuals, and I think it's important to remember the way things used to be for people,
 and
5. Benedict Cumberbatch is my favorite actor (No, I'm serious. That's a legitimate reason.)

And there you have it.
If you choose to watch this movie, I hope you enjoy. Watch out for a couple of moments, but all in all, it's the kind of movie that I think is 'important to see eventually in your life'.

Thanks for reading!
-Amaris

Have you seen The Imitation Game? 

What did you think of it?