Benedict Cumberbatch has everything that an actor on a hot streak needs, except an Oscar nomination. But his latest movie might finally give him that. In The Imitation Game, the Sherlock star plays Alan Turing, a mathematical genius who helped break Nazi codes for the allies and was later convicted for being homosexual.
The first trailer for the film was released today and it hits all the points that Oscar bait needs to hit. You have an unlikely hero who teams up with a young woman (Keira Knightley) who impresses our lead with her knowledge. There’s plenty of authority figures who don’t believe in what our hero is doing, but he’s out to prove them wrong. Sound familiar? It’s the stuff of Hollywood convention, but Cumberbatch might save the audience from boredom.
The British Film Institute also announced this morning that the film will open the 2014 BFI London Film Festival on Oct. 8.
“I am thrilled to be returning to London to share The Imitation Game with the audience of the BFI London Film Festival,” director Morten Tyldum said in a statement. “The experience of directing this film has been so tremendously rewarding, and I am humbled to share Alan Turing’s incredible story on Opening Night.”
The Imitation Game opens in the U.S. on Nov. 21.
image courtesy of ACE/INFphoto.com