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But, and you knew the but was coming, the Imitation Game is - like most populist movies of its type - weakest at its story. (The average Oscar voter, of course, would argue that the story is the strongest part of the movie.) To be clear, the story is moving, compelling, interesting, and had to be told, not just because of the amazing heroics of the Enigma code breakers, but because of the horrific things that happened to Turing throughout his life because of his homosexuality. The movie in toto, an epopee to the genius that was long overdue, is important in that sense.

More problematic, however, are some of the ways in which the story is told. There are gaps and contrivances that the more cynical amongst us are bound to notice (but that should not necessarily detract from enjoying the movie). Turing’s complicated relationships with his work colleagues appear to be a focal point of the plot - they don’t like him and he doesn’t care much for them - until it is not. With the blink of a film reel frame, all of a sudden the relationship thaws and everyone works together. The lack of continuity there takes you out of the movie ever so briefly.

A similar problem exists with respect to how the movie handles Turing’s homosexuality. It is a subtle theme throughout, but when it gets explored in depth towards the end, it is done quickly and almost as an afterthought, leaving you to wonder whether the filmmakers don’t trust the audience to be mature enough to want to learn about this topic.

And (semi spoiler alert) the worst part of all is the Eureka moment of the film - when Turing has the inspiration that allows him to finally crack Enigma. The trick is so obvious as to be visible the moment it is introduced in the plot about 45 minutes prior to the discovery, and so stupidly simple that anyone with a basic understanding of mathematics will spot it immediately when it is mentioned.

Again, the filmmakers are probably wiser than I am - explaining to audiences the intricacies of these mathematical machinations is challenging enough as it is, and adding more to it would have probably made the movie more inaccessible to audiences. Given that this is a story that has to be told, it is always a conundrum to determine what the best approach is here. Does the filmmaker stick with the difficult scenes risking that it will turn audiences away, as it happened with 12 Years A Slave, or does the filmmaker turn it all into fluff and joy so as to draw audiences in, as the people behind Argo did? The Imitation Game people went for the latter choice. I can’t necessarily blame them, but I personally find that choice less rewarding than the former.

All in all, however, The Imitation Game is a solid movie, one that I would gladly see again, and it will make a worthy Best Picture nominee (should it get there, as I expect it likely will). I would not give it the top prize.

The Imitation Game is set to be released commercially in the United States on November 21st, the Friday before Thanksgiving.

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