Breaking The Code (UK)

At its best, this film makes the injustice done to Alan Turing impossible to ignore. At its most frustrating, it leaves the scale of his intellectual achievement largely in the background. I came away moved by the story, but still wondering why a film about such a brilliant man gives so much of its attention to his sexuality.

Derek Jacobi carries the drama as Turing in a production made for television and adapted from a play of the same name. The staging is deliberately theatrical: scenes rely almost entirely on dialogue, with Turing and just one other actor present. Jacobi’s performance is powerful and deeply emotional, giving the biopic a compelling center, and the cast is terrific. The direction is also well judged, even if the film is not without flaws.

The story moves between periods in Turing’s life. At school, he shares a close friendship with Chris, who later dies. As an adult, Turing applies for a government position and works on the German Enigma code, helping in the war. Yet his mathematical brilliance and wartime work never receive as much weight as his private life. The film barely explores his computing legacy, despite his place as a pioneer of modern computing.

That imbalance shapes the later events. Turing lives with a much younger man and makes little effort to conceal the relationship. His workplace superior suggests that he keep his private life private, lest it give others ideas. A beautiful woman who works with him tells Turing she loves him, knowing that he is gay. After an incident, he is required to declare his sexuality. In Britain at the time, being gay is a crime, and Turing is brought to court. He is forced to undergo hormonal therapy intended to suppress his desire, while his secret clearance is also damaged.

A year later, in 1954, Turing is found dead. The official record says he took his own life. The film’s account of his persecution is deeply affecting, and it makes clear how appallingly this great man was treated. Rather than prosecuting him, his own government owed him a debt of gratitude; only recently did it grant him a Royal Pardon. The attempt to weave his past together with his wartime achievements feels half-hearted, however, and the film’s emphasis remains on sexuality rather than the brilliance that helped crack Enigma.

I had doubts when the film began, and its talk-heavy, interaction-driven style will not suit everyone. But for viewers comfortable with a full-on drama built around dialogue, it can be rewarding. It is a moving, well-acted biopic of one of the 20th century’s smartest men: strong on the appalling treatment he endured, but light on his genius. (6/10)