2) Turing Is “Treated” – The Imitation Game
It’s pretty clear by now that Benedict Cumberbatch is the go-to guy when you want someone to play a socially-awkward genius. After the likes of Sherlock and Stephen Hawking, his turn as Alan Turing in 2014 biopic The Imitation Game could have been more of the same, but Cumberbatch offers up a completely fresh performance.
His most impressive scene comes at the end of the film, after Turing has been charged for his homosexuality. Keira Knightley’s Joan comes to visit him and finds him skittish and shaking – he has been forced to undergo hormone therapy to “cure” his sexuality. He only accepted so that he could stay with his beloved computer Christopher (named after his tragic childhood friend). In a heartbreaking example of the treatment’s effect on him, Turing can’t even complete a simple crossword puzzle.
It’s shamelessly sentimental, but you would be hard-pressed not to be a bawling wreck by the end of it, thanks to Cumberbatch wringing every drop of emotion out of the scene.
Published: Jan 30, 2017 03:12 pm