Best Picture Nominees — The Imitation Game


The Academy Awards are approaching, so it's time to look at this year's nominees.

Movie: The Imitation Game
Nominations: 8
Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), Best Supporting Actress (Keira Knightly), Best Director (Morten Tyldum), Best Adapted Screenplay (Graham Moore), Best Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design
About: Every year there's a really good movie that gets a lot of Academy Award nominations that comes away with nothing, or at least hardly anything. This year, that might be "The Imitation Game." It's an interesting story that's well told. It has some good performances. It's well crafted and been well received. It garnered eight Academy Award nominations, but it's not a front-runner in any category. The film was also nominated for five Golden Globe awards but came away with no wins. It's hard to see it winning Best Picture, though it was a good film. In addition, it's hard to see it winning either of the acting awards it's up for, or for directing or screenplay. It's possible it could break through in production design or score, but there are probably more likely choices. "The Imitation Game" is a good movie, better than "The Theory of Everything" in terms of being a complete film, but since the two are so similar they've gotten lost in the shuffle. When I first saw this movie I was moved by the story. The World War II aspect is fascinating, and is likely an aspect of the war that most people aren't familiar with. Alan Turing has had a dramatic effect on our world, but most probably don't even know his name. Similarly, Turing and his team played a great part in the allies winning the war, but their mission was kept secret for 50 years. At the same time, what happened to Turing — and the tragic circumstance of his death — is also somewhat fascinating. In a different year, or with perhaps a slightly more showy film, this story might be getting more attention. But this is a year rife with biopics — with four of them in the Best Picture race, alone. For "The Imitation Game," simply garnering eight nominations will have to be their victory.
Rating: PG-13 for some sexual references, mature thematic material and historical smoking.
Verdict: Four stars out of four.
"The Imitation Game" is now playing in theaters nationwide.

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