Breaking the Code

I came to this film thinking it would be about the code-breaking element of Alan Turing's life, his work on the famous Enigma code and computers and it took me a minute to get into the fact that the film is actually much more about him as a man in the later stages of his life. In this regard the film actually turns out to be more interesting than it would have been if it just focused on the work side of the man; certainly it serves up more for the writers and lead actor to work with.

I think it was a coincidence but the film was shown recently on BBC4 around the time that Channel 4 was marking the 40th anniversary of the legalisation of male homosexuality in the UK, which is a theme that is central in this film. The material brings out the genius and imagination of Turing but also the tragic confession that saw his life under threat. The film leaves us in no doubt that Turing was fortunate in his situation but that the illegal nature of his (now commonplace) sexual relationship saw his life threatened regardless of what he had done in the past.

It is this truth and this struggle that the film focuses on and it makes it more interesting as a result. Wise's direction is quite patient and still, which makes the film feel a little stagy and slow but works in the way it sits back and allows the cast to work. Specifically this serves Derek Jacobi well because his performance is impressive throughout, whether it is his passion for his subject or his sense of panic when he realises he has incriminated himself, he is convincing. Support is good from Armstrong, Scales, Pinter and others but the film does belong to Jacobi.

Overall then this is a slow film that may frustrate some viewers with its pace or the way that it overlooks Turings work in favour of him as a man. This does work though and makes for an interesting character piece and, other than the pace the only issue I had with it was the fact that the film concludes with the news that Turing was later recognised by having part of a roundabout in Manchester named after him. Surely it would have been better to have closed the film by remembering his contribution rather than this rather weak platitude?

This curious telemovie has a number of fierce devotees, including some who insist it's a better account of Alan Turing than the seriously over-hyped Hollywood version, The Imitation Game. In fact, it's a fairly unimaginative adaptation of a ponderous and often clunky stage play, and one that hasn't dated at all well. The chief virtue is supposedly Derek Jacobi's performance as Turing, but, truth be told, Jacobi - accomplished and committed as he is to the role - is as far from the real Turing as Cumberbatch's mannered, showy turn in Imitation Game. For one thing, Jacobi is as unlike Turing physically as it's possible to be. He's also twenty years older than Turing was when he died, and nearly twice the age Turing was when he was code-breaking at Bletchley Park. Ultimately, both versions make less of Turing's contribution to computing and code-breaking than they should. Where Imitation Game becomes preoccupied with manufacturing a romance with Joan Clarke that never was, Breaking The Code makes Turing's homosexuality THE BIG PROBLEM in a way that renders him tortured and tragic. In fact, Turing never was tortured about his sexuality; he was open and unapologetic in ways that were well ahead of his time. Even ahead of the prevailing attitudes in this 1980s telling of his tale. And yet, when it matters most the teleplay makes very little of the impact Turing's conviction for indecent acts had on his professional and personal life. It also fails to make much of the nature of his death (suicide, some say murder), which one would have thought was a gift to any dramatist. Overall, Breaking The Code is not so offensively phoney has The Imitation Game, but more or less equally unsatisfying. A definitive film biography of Turing is remains to be made.

I'm not interested in mathematics. Or the history of the computer. Or indeed, homosexual politics. But I am concerned with the talents, vicissitudes, suffering, blossoming, and achievements of human beings. And this is a tale full of humanity - and drama, as that humanity, and the talents and nature of Alan Turing are beaten down. The assault and damnation of his sexual orientation amount to a pervasive crime. It's about as dramatic a dynamic as you can find. And at the centre of it all: Derek Jacobi's remarkable performance. Forget I Claudius and Hamlet, this is his finest hour. Characteristically, he effortlessly takes us into the heart of Turing and allows us to feel his cleverness and his pain. His tender, acutely-observed performance induces us to rage, rage against the moon as this heroic character is beleaguered by the mores of the era, and in doing so, the deft Jacobi has somehow made the example of Turing one to benefit, push and shame mankind, as well as to inspire it to greater aspirations. A magnificent story, a magnificent, classic production, and an insurmountable performance at its heart.

Although excellent drama in its own right, with stellar acting and directing, the film is also one of the few insightful portrayals of creative genius. The film gets it all right, from depictions of Turing's precocious (yet difficult) boyhood, to accounts of the actual creative process. This is a must see film.

I had never heard of Alan Turing, the mathematical genius behind the cracking of the German's `Enigma Code' during World War II, despite the fact that he was also heavily involved in the invention of the digital computer.

And I was amazed to learn from this excellent biography of Turing (who should surely be remembered as a `celebrity scientist' in the Einstein class) that the reason for his burial by the British establishment is the simple matter of his sexuality. Yes, Turing was gay in an era when homosexuality was not only unfashionable but indeed illegal!

Apart from the intrinsic interest of the subject, `Breaking the Code' is illuminated by a superb performance from Derek Jacobi (with a hint of his 'I Claudius' stammer) who brilliantly conveys not only Turing's fierce intelligence but also his enthusiasm for his discipline and his need to pass on this passion to his colleagues.

Supporting roles are well cast and played with playwright and sometime actor Harold Pinter not out of place beside veterans Richard Johnson and Prunella Scales but Jacobi's tour-de-force is the thing.

I hope I have encouraged you to see this British made-for-tv movie if you get a chance.