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Benedict Cumberbatch in "The Imitation Game"


Carol the Dabbler

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I don't know why but I keep getting chills every time I see the trailer.  Right when she finishes the problem at 5:35 minutes... chills start.  I know it's going to be superb, and as always, BC has somewhat changed his voice for his character.  It's amazing how he does that.

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He always looks so different too, he amazes me.

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I'm a bit skeptical about the female lead. I'm not a big fan of Keira Knightly. But who knows, maybe this will be the role where I discover how good she really is. That keeps happening to me, thinking "oh no, not him / not her; what awful casting" and then I see the movie, come away totally awed and go seek out all the other work of that actor or actress and look at it with entirely different eyes.

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I really didn't particularly like Keira myself until Atonement, I thought she was superb in that.  

 

This looks good, really good, and oh my what a cast!

Roll on November/December.

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She actually made me cry a little in "The Duchess" but I still feel off when I see her name, especially in the same movie as Benedicht. Can't wait to see the film anyway :) It's a good story

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Wow, I just assumed everyone liked Keira, I guess. I always have, ever since Bend It Like Beckham. She's different. I admit I haven't seen most of her recent stuff, tho.

 

I admit the premise of this movie didn't sound too promising to me, but now I've seen the trailer, I'm really looking forward to it, it looks like my kind of film after all. Yay!

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I just re-read the BBC News article about Turning's Royal Pardon (which occurred last December), and noticed a couple more things:

 

Turing was convicted of "gross indecency" (i.e., consensual sex with another man) in 1952.  That happens to be the same year that Elizabeth became queen.  While I doubt very much that she was personally aware of his trial, it's still nicely fitting that she should be the one to pardon him, 61 years later.  That sort of thing is quite different here in the US, where a pardon or apology is often issued by a president who wasn't even born yet when the original incident occurred.

 

Then there's this:

 

Turing died in June 1954 from cyanide poisoning and an inquest decided that he had committed suicide. However, biographers, friends and other students of his life dispute the finding and suggest his death was an accident.

 

... and this:

 

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: ... "While I have no evidence that he was murdered, I do think we need to explore the possibility that he may have been killed by the security services. He was regarded as a high security risk."

 

I wonder whether the movie will explore that chilling possibility?

 

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  • 1 month later...

Here's Radio Times' summary of early critical reviews (BC may win an Oscar for this to go along with his Emmy! :D )

 

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-08-30/benedict-cumberbatch-dominates-in-the-imitation-game---first-reviews-round-up

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They posted a "review" now on Variety.  "Masterful performance" by Cumberbatch.  

 

http://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/telluride-film-review-the-imitation-game-1201294590/

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I hope others have less trouble seeing this (weak wifi connection) ... from what I saw, a decent interview.

 

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Toronto Film Fest Press Conference ... doesn't actully begin until 18 minutes in.

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The first of 4 parts: Q&A about the Imitation Game at the Toronto Film Fest. Evidently most of the questions were for Benedict. Not great quality but you can hear most of it.

 

 

 

Part 2:

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New interview...

 

Thanks for the link! I am looking forward to this film very, very much.

 

In the interview, I actually paid more attention to Ms Knightly. It's always interesting to focus on people I don't really like and see if I can find something to change my mind. She's certainly very eloquent, which I admire hugely in anybody. Sometimes I wonder whether the main reason I don't like to watch films with her is that I don't find her attractive, which would be appallingly superficial and wrong...

 

Who is her character in "The Imitation Game" based on, by the way? Does anybody know? I'm too lazy and exhausted for research of my own tonight, I think I'll just go and spend the rest of the night looking at Sherlock pictures.

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Thank you! Now I've been trying and trying to find a picture of her, but all I've discovered so far is this book cover. I think the lady in the middle is her.

 

3-women-codesLP-200x300.png

 

Sure does not look anything like Keira Knightley...

 

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That may be the only known picture of her -- thanks for posting it!  It's the first one I've ever seen (and there's no photo of her in Hodges' biography of Turing).  In any case, there doesn't seem to be much awareness of what she looked like, which gave the movie makers pretty free rein to cast whoever they thought would play the part well.  Though Knightly (in costume) actually looks more like the woman on the left:

 

the-imitation-game.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=

 

Odd that they would make her blond if Clarke was a brunette.  So maybe the photos on the book cover aren't in the proper order?

 

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Nope, the gal on the left is indeed Margaret Rock, and the one on the right is indeed Mavis Lever.  But even this page does not have a photo of Joan Clarke!

 

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They made her way too pretty, if you ask me. But god forbid the love interest (or whatever) of the main character should be plain... Grrr.

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And if they had made her "plain", people would be grumping that movies always represent smart girls as ugly girls!! :D

 

I like her looks, they're out of the ordinary ... in an attractive way. Rather like her co-star!

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