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The Imitation Game is an eagerly anticipated film following queer pioneer Alan Turing and his team at Bletchley Park as they worked to crack the Germans’ enigma code and provide a way to turn the tables of World War II. The film has been the subject of keen interest by the LGBT+ community, since Turing, who lived in Manchester, has become a hero of the modern world.
Both LGBT+ and straight campaigners have been adamant that Turing’s sexuality shouldn’t be ignored in the biopic, and it seems this wish has been fulfilled in this latest version of the Turing story. The trailer reveals that the indecency charges against Turing will feature in the film, as well as Turing’s work on the enigma, his mathematical studies of sunflowers and his love of running.
Turing was integral to the development of modern computers and helped crack the enigma code which the Nazis used to communicate during World War II. His role in cracking the code helped the Allies win the war and stop Hitler’s Third Reich in Europe.
Turing’s contribution was largely forgotten in the years immediately after the war, and he was subject to chemical castration after being found having sex in public with another man. This ultimately led Turing to kill himself with a poisoned apple. In recent years, campaigning by LGBT+ groups – including continued attempts to raise education of LGBT+ history by organisations such as Schools Out – has brought Turing’s story back into the public eye. Turing was recently pardoned by the Government, in recognition of his role in WWII and modern computing.
The film is directed by Morten Tyldum and produced by Teddy Schwarzman, Ido Ostrowsky and Nora Grossman. The script was written by Graham Moore, and the all-star cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Allen Leech and Matthew Beard.
The Imitation Game is out in cinemas November 14th. You can check out the trailer here:
