The first trailers for the upcoming Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game have been released, starring Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch as the troubled mathematician.
Trailers, plural? Yes -- the international trailer opts for a more action-packed approach, with plenty of explosions and depictions of war-torn London peppering the background to Turing's struggle to crack the Enigma machine and unlock Nazi communications during World War II. The UK trailer instead focusses more on Turing's arrogant personality and conflicts with the political and military figures of the time, painting the film as much more of a character piece.
The film has been in development on and off for years, with its script by Graham Moore featuring prominently on Hollywood's Black List -- the best unproduced scripts of the year -- in 2011. It will be Norwegian director Morten Tyldum's first English language movie, and co-stars Keira Knightly and Charles Dance. While it won't be the first adaptation of Turing's life -- the TV movie Codebreaker was released in 2011, and numerous mini-series and specials have chronicled his work -- it will be the biggest focus the 'father of computing' has had in the mainstream.
Despite delivering the Allies the key to victory over German forces and laying the foundation for everything we understand computing to be, Turing was treated appallingly in the years following the war. Prosecuted for his homosexuality in 1952, he accepted chemical castration instead of prison. He died in 1954 of cyanide poisoning, with debate still ongoing over whether it was suicide or an accident. Turing was eventually pardoned by Royal Prerogative of Mercy in 2013, a century after his birth. The UK trailer opens in the aftermath of the war, with Cumberbatch's Turing recounting his activities -- hopefully this indicates the film will address the more unpleasant aspects of the man's life.
The Imitation Game is due for release on 14 November. If nothing else, the film will hopefully remind a few viewers that Jon Bon Jovi had nothing to do with cracking Enigma.
