The story of Alan Turing and Enigma is such a fascinating, rich one that it's no surprise to find it's already inspired books, plays, documentaries and movies... though I was surprised that no one has done the story properly as a film until now. It had so much to offer: a spy for the Russians, a tormented genius gay hero, genuine stakes, a woman in a man's world, incompetent leaders, treacherous secret service agents.
Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent in the lead - it's the sort of part he is perfect for: brilliant, showy, eccentric, tormented. There's strong support too from Charles Dance, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong etc, particularly the kid who plays the young Turing, plus first rate evocation of Britain at the time.
The script is sometimes sublime but other times goes on the nose with a "spelling out the subtext" dialogue and scenes which were sometimes a bit too 'we are pumping this up for drama'. But a very good film.
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