The Imitation Game True Story: Everything The Movie Changes (2024)

The Imitation Game's true story reveals the key role British mathematician and computer pioneer Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) played in breaking Germany's Enigma machine during World War II. With the Axis threat looming large on the Allies, the movie explores Turing's contributions to intercepting and cracking codes that helped win the war. Also joining him in his nail-biting war room pursuits are fellow real-life cryptanalyst Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) and Scottish codebreaker Commander Alexander Denniston (Charles Dance). This crucial chapter in Turing’s life is inspired by Andrew Hodges’s acclaimed 1983 biography Alan Turing: The Enigma.

However, it must be noted that The Imitation Game is only loosely inspired by the book, as its plot strays quite far from the true story. From Alan Turing’s personality to his contributions to cracking the Enigma machine, there are many plot points that were altered for dramatic effect. Even though The Imitation Game garnered positive reviews and awards acclaim at the time of its release, the movie is still considered to be one of the most inaccurate biopics in recent times. In fact, as the visual data site Information Is Beautiful suggests, only 42.3 percent of The Imitation Game can be considered historical truth.

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Alan Turing Wasn’t The Only One Responsible For Breaking The Enigma

The Imitation Game Ignores The Previous Work That Helped Turing And His Team

The Imitation Game portrays Alan Turing as a genius who suddenly and single-handedly turns the tide in the fight against Germany during World War II. While other code breakers including Joan Clarke are featured, the movie heavily suggests that Turing was solely responsible for building the machine that defeated the Enigma and putting Benedict Cumberbatch's performance at the center.

The true story behind The Imitation Game actually points to pre-existing technology by the Polish that was later worked upon by Turing and British mathematician Gordon Welchman. Ralph Erskine’s research paper The Poles Reveal their Secrets – Alastair Dennistons's Account of the July 1939 Meeting at Pyry sheds more light on cryptanalysts from the Polish Cipher Bureau.

In 1932, the Polish Cipher Bureau’s Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Różycki, and Henryk Zygalski were the first ones to attempt to break German codes. In 1939, Poland began to reveal these methods to allies including Britain, and it’s certain that the code-breaking from the early 1930s contributed to the development of the Bombe, the British machine that relied on rotors to crack code combinations.

Turing was obviously a visionary in his own right, but his contribution to the Bombe was not a brand-new invention. In fact, Turing made the process quicker with his prototype, a machine that he worked on with Gordon Welchman, who is never even mentioned in the movie.

Joan Clarke Wasn’t Recruited By Solving Crossword Puzzles

The Imitation Game Conflates The Code Breaking And Puzzle-Solving Skills

The Imitation Game ranks among Keira Knightley’s best movies, but her character also faces the brunt of historical inaccuracy. Joan Clarke is introduced as being recruited to the code-breaking efforts at Bletchley Park after she displays her puzzle-solving skills at a crossword competition — with Turing having set the puzzle.

According to the Guardian, crosswords were indeed used in the recruitment process at Bletchley Park, but neither Turing nor Clarke was recruited this way. Clarke was a gifted mathematician in her own right and was recruited to the mission by Turing’s peer Gordon Welchman. Andrew Hodges’s biography also suggests Turing was not great at word puzzles like cryptograms and anagrams.

Alan Turing Was Never Investigated For Espionage

The Imitation Game Suggests This Led To The Discovery Of Turing's Sexuality

A crucial element in the British war movie’s narrative is Alan Turing being tailed in 1951 by a detective named Robert Nock (Rory Kinnear), who suspects him of being a Soviet spy. The Imitation Game insists that it is this run-in with the law that led to the discovery of Turing’s hom*osexuality. While Turing was unjustly booked for indecency in 1952, there was no Detective Nock involved.

As the Guardian points out, Turing had actually reported a house burglary to the police but had to change his story because the possible culprit Arnold Murray had sexual relations with him. The police later found out about Turing’s connection with Murray and convicted him.

Joan Clarke & Alan Turing’s Engagement Was Under Different Circ*mstances

Turing Expressed Love For Joan

The true story behind The Imitation Game does include the fact that Joan Clarke and Alan Turing were briefly engaged. As per the movie, Turing was willing to take this step to fulfill her overbearing parents’ wishes. However, as Andrew Hodges’s book recounts, the engagement happened simply because Turing liked her.

While Clarke was accepting of Turing being gay, Turing enjoyed her company and the two shared a common interest in chess and botany. He eventually ended the engagement, but unlike The Imitation Game, the real Alan Turing wasn’t emotionless about it. To quote Hodges, “There had been several times when he had come out with ‘I do love you.’”

Alan Turing Was Not Always Unsocial & Unfunny

The Imitation Game Exaggerated The Trope Of The Loner Genius

A recurring cliche in movies about tortured geniuses is to portray the central figure as socially awkward. The Imitation Game also falls prey to this norm, depicting Alan Turing as an introverted man who could be difficult to work with and who would hardly understand jokes.

Andrew Hodges’s book does depict Turing as a man who preferred working alone and someone who could take some matters in the literal sense. However, the biography also depicts Turing as having many close friends and a sense of humor. Turing’s social awkwardness is definitely exaggerated in Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance.

Commander Denniston’s Personality Is Heavily Altered

Denniston's Antagonist Characterization Has Been Questioned

Commander Denniston is portrayed as the hot-headed director of the Government Code and Cypher School. Despite being responsible for recruiting Turing, he is shown to have several ideological clashes with the mathematician. Tensions rise to the point where he even tries to fire Turing from the operation.

As reported by The Telegraph, Denniston’s grandchildren criticized this portrayal as inaccurate. They argue that in actuality, he didn’t strictly adhere to military thinking as shown in the movie. The real story behind The Imitation Game also suggests that Denniston never threatened to fire Turing. In fact, Turing’s efforts were appreciated at Bletchley Park, and he became a leader in no time.

Alan Turing Never Met A Soviet Spy Or A British Intelligence Head

Mark Strong's Character Also Likely Never Met Turing

The Imitation Game may focus on wartime espionage, but it takes a few liberties with its portrayal, such as when Alan Turing met Soviet spy John Cairncross (Allen Leech). According to a take by The New York Review of Books, the truth is that Turing never crossed paths with Cairncross; even though the spy worked at Bletchley Park, he was stationed at a different unit. Turing is also shown to interact with Stewart Menzies (Mark Strong), the head of the British Secret Intelligence Service. Slate points out that there is no evidence to support this claim either.

Peter Hilton Had No Brother Serving In The War

Turing And His Team Would Not Make Such Decisions

Peter Hilton (Matthew Beard), one of the codebreakers under Turing, faces a moral dilemma when the team discovers a German raid on a convoy in which Hilton’s brother is also serving. The team still decides not to use the broken codes to stop the raid as they don’t wish to reveal their code-breaking expertise to the Germans. It is an interesting dilemma they are forced to deal with fighting World War II from the home front, but it is a fabrication.

According to Slate, such a moment could not have happened at all as Hilton didn’t have any such brother. The team’s decision to not prevent a raid runs contrary to the general military practices of such dilemmas, as such decisions regarding secret intelligence were mostly made by higher levels within the military administration.

Alan Turing’s hom*osexuality Is Toned Down

Turing's Established Relationship With Another Man Led To His Arrest

Alan Turing’s sexuality doesn’t play a major role in The Imitation Game. Flashbacks reveal his fondness for his schoolmate Christopher Morcom (Jack Bannon) but as Andrew Hodges’s biography reveals, this relationship was one-sided with Morcom not reciprocating Turing’s feelings. The movie, however, goes on to show a mutual love between the two.

Alan Turing: The Enigma also shows that despite the hom*ophobia at the time, the mathematician could be quite bold while approaching some of the men in his life, yet this aspect is hardly touched upon in the movie. Similarly, Arnold Murray, the man who had sexual relations with Turing and eventually led to his conviction, is never featured.

The Cause Of Alan Turing’s Death Is Debated

The Popular Theory Of Suicide By Poisonous Apple May Not Have Happened

Like Andrew Hodges’s book, the postscript at the end of The Imitation Game mentions that Alan Turing took his own life after he was forced to undergo chemical therapy. There has been some uncertainty regarding the nature of Turing’s death, however. Jack Copeland, the editor of several of Turing’s works, called it accidental.

The general theory, as also mentioned in The Imitation Game, is that Turing killed himself by eating a cyanide-laced apple. However, as the BBC reports, Copeland feels that the investigation into Turing's death was inadequate. He adds that Turing could have actually died due to cyanide fumes produced by an experiment in a spare room.

The Imitation Game

PG-13

Drama

Biography

Thriller

The Imitation Game stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, the real-life British mathematician and computer scientist who was instrumental in decoding the German spy code machine Enigma during WWII. The film focuses on Turing's work during the war and his personal life during that time, as well as the tragic story of his life after the war and his death in 1954. Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Charles Dance, and Mark Strong also star.

Release Date

November 28, 2014

Director

Morten Tyldum

Cast

Mark Strong , Matthew Goode , Keira Knightley , Benedict Cumberbatch

Runtime

114minutes

Writers

Graham Moore

Budget

$14 million

Studio(s)

The Weinstein Company