15 Major Historical Inaccuracies That Undermine Famous Movies
9. The Imitation Game Misrepresents Alan Turing Considerably
The Imitation Game is not a particularly accurate historical drama and received a substantial amount of criticism for this. This is justified to be honest.
The Imitation Game is a film that was initially beloved but faced a backlash and, given how unrepresentative of Alan Turing it actually was, this is hardly surprising. The film is enjoyable, reasonably moving, well-acted and works well as a celebration of Turing's achievements, but not as an exploration of serious issues.
The film lacks significantly in its depiction of Turing's downfall and conviction for homosexuality, which feels like an afterthought in the film. The details of his capture are inaccurate, he never named the code-breaking machine 'Christopher' and the film plays up his relationship with Joan Clarke instead of his sexuality.
The representation of Turing himself is completely off. Although Benedict Cumberbatch is great, he depicts Turing as a snobbish, difficult man who's characteristics are akin to that of someone with Asperger's Syndrome or Autism. The real Turing had friends and was a well-liked individual, so to misrepresent him in this way and depict him as rather unlikable feels hugely disrespectful to Turing.
Some have retrospectively diagnosed Turing with Autism, but attaching a known condition to a historical figure feels inappropriate given the lack of confirmation; the film also offers a stereotypical, inaccurate depiction of Autism.
This misrepresentation, as well as the overall lack of focus on Turing's homosexuality, meant this ultimately let its subject down somewhat.