'The Imitation Game' - Reviewed by David Corish

‘The Imitation Game’ recounts the devastatingly sad story of Alan Turing, the “father of Computer Science” A genius, maltreated by the British government, who saved countless lives and significantly shortened World War II.

Here, Turing is portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch who turns in a thoroughly fascinating performance. He fully inhabits the role of this Sherlockian character, bringing not only an aura of extreme confidence and intelligence but an expertly averted gaze that hints at a profound vulnerability to this seemingly arrogant and unfeeling man. Keira Knightley brings some levity and her character, Joan, contrasts Turing’s distant persona with delightful warmth. The cast is rounded out by a similarly superb Charles Dance as Commander Denniston with his trademark authoritative voice as booming as ever; one needs only wait and listen for a pin to drop whenever he appears on-screen.

The film centres around Turing’s breaking of Enigma. The codebreaking is vastly simplified for a Hollywood audience; however, the stakes are kept suitably high. Scenes of ‘Christopher’ working to crack the German’s messages are interspersed by footage of the war raging on. The clicks of the rotors resemble a clock’s ticking, something of a countdown to annihilation. Every second that goes by, another life is lost. A deft hand is applied in both the editing and cinematography, although a little more creativity would have been appreciated.

Alexandre Desplat’s masterful main theme employs an almost mechanical use of repeating piano arpeggios. These fantastically convey the fast movement of Turing’s mind and are suitably computerised but do not sound electronic. As the main theme continues, the arpeggios begin to layer representing numerous strands of thought running at once. It feels calculated yet musters in the listener an enjoyment of said calculation. The bass line is melancholic, a solemn hymn-like sound filled with gravitas. We are reminded of the tragic circumstances in which this calculation is taking place. War is coming. Several motifs are also heard throughout the film, Christopher’s theme is especially a highlight and the short childhood motif is joyously nostalgic.

It is worth noting that the film takes major liberties with its source material. This is not simply taking some minor artistic license; in many parts, it is almost entirely fiction. Computing historian Thomas Haigh once remarked that the film is a “useful summary of everything that popular imagination gets wrong about Bletchley Park.” A shame as Turing’s story is already compelling. Broad strokes do remain intact and audiences may consider themselves somewhat educated on his contributions to the war but a documentary, this is most certainly not. Also, was the framing device of a detective investigating Turing really necessary? No, it is muddled and confusing, serving only to distract from the main event.

Historical inaccuracies aside, “The Imitation Game” is most definitely worth a watch, especially if you are unaware of Turing’s contributions to the war effort. Cumberbatch’s performance of a tortured, brilliant man is riveting and serves as an excellent tribute to an astonishing man.

Good Will Hunting - Reviewed by Daniel Sheridan

Earning both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck an Oscar, Good Will Hunting has gone down as a modern classic.

Damon and Affleck’s social realism tale of a boy genius born into a rough neighbourhood and a rough upbringing feels incredibly raw and real. I think this is due to the wonderful cinematography by Jean-Yves Escoffier. When I think of the cinematography in Good Will Hunting, I think of this quote from Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) when she was on The A24 Podcast. When talking about film noise and grain with Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) she says “I like knowing a machine captured it” This is something I always go back to when looking at cinematography. The rough grain of Good Will Hunting and the film shutters allow us to look at the film almost like an envelope filled with pictures from a disposable camera. It’s this that gives Affleck and Damon’s view of Boston a sense of reality, that it is stuck in a place in time, that these people have lives outside of the frames we view them in.

An aspect you have to talk about when talking about Good Will Hunting are the performances. Minnie Driver and Ben Affleck’s performances give us a great sense of character, they accentuate their awkward quirks and it makes you feel like these are people you know. You see Skylar and Chuckie in friends and people you went to secondary school with because they have that air of familiarity in the way Driver and Affleck portray each character. However, the standouts of the film have to be Matt Damon and Robin Williams. The chemistry between the two of them is impactful and a simple joy to watch. From laughing at anecdotes to crying over shared emotions they create this bond that was rarely seen other films of the time. As we spend the most time with Will, Damon allows us to feel his pain along with him, not from what he says but from what he doesn’t. He allows us to know how Will is feeling just from simple glances and body language.

If there is one outlier in this cast I would have to go with Stellen Skarsgard. His character was incredibly weaselly and manipulative but I never felt that in Skarsgard’s performance. Now, this could be because we spend less time with him but I felt that he was quite stilted in this role.

When it comes down to it, I think that Good Will Hunting will still be seen as a shining example of the social realism movement for years to come. It’s sensitive portrayal of the characters allow us to empathise completely. Gus Van Sant’s direction gives us this empathy. The handheld motif of the film brings us closer to Will’s world like we are one of his friends driving around South Boston, or an onlooker looking into his most private moments. This creates this uncomfortable barrier between us and the characters. This documentary style of shooting drama is not a new concept, popularised in the British Social Realism movement of the 60’s. Much like Ken Loach in 'Up the Junction', Van Sant uses this to allow us to reflect on the real-life counterparts of Will and his surroundings.

If you have not seen Good Will Hunting yet do yourself a favour and go see this incredible piece of modern cinema history!