But Is It Gay Enough?: <em>The Imatn Game</em>

Contents:

• THE IMATN GAME DIRECTOR FENDS FILM'S LACK OF GAY SEX SCEN
• ‘THE IMATN GAME’ DIRECTOR ON LACK OF GAY SEX MOVIE AND WORKG WH BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH
• BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH TALKS ABOUT GAY SEX SCEN (OR LACK OF) THE IMATN GAME
• BUT IS IT GAY ENOUGH?: THE IMATN GAME
• THE IMATN GAME DIRECTOR MORTEN TYLDUM: WE DIDN'T NEED GAY SEX SCEN
• <I>THE IMATN GAME</I>'S ALAN TURG -- A GAY MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

THE IMATN GAME DIRECTOR FENDS FILM'S LACK OF GAY SEX SCEN

If I have a gay character a movie, I need to have a sex scene — jt to prove that he’s gay?

His whole relatnship, how he falls love and the importance of him beg a gay man, was all about secrecy. The only reason to have a sex scene the film would be to satisfy crics who feels that every gay character needs to have a gay sex scene. ”The Imatn Game is up for eight Osrs, cludg bt picture and bt actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, who has ed the film to support a mpaign to get other gay men arrted durg the same perd pardoned for their crim.

“The Imatn Game” stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turg, a World War II Brish mathematician famo for crackg Nazi Germany’s Enigma , but ultimately punished by the ernment for his homosexualy. Somethg that’s been a pretty hotly bated topic around this film is the explic exprsn of homosexualy. We don’t even know Christopher was gay.

‘THE IMATN GAME’ DIRECTOR ON LACK OF GAY SEX MOVIE AND WORKG WH BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH

So you have that and to add somethg any way, we felt, would be disrpectful to this character beg gay. It’s almost like addg an unnecsary sex scene for a heterosexual character…like bee he’s gay, we have to have that. We’re not shyg away om him beg gay.

He was a clost gay man dog the whole World War, which was really part of the whole [film]. Get our ee weekly email for all the latt cematic news om our film cric Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cematic email for eeBenedict Cumberbatch has fend the cisn not to clu overt gay sex scen his latt movie, The Imatn Brish actor plays geni breaker Alan Turg who helps the Alli feat the German Nazis World War II, only to be crimally prosecuted for beg a homosexual when he is ught wh a 19-year-old man crics have asked why sex do not feature the film but acrdg to Cumberbatch, is "not an exploratn of someone's sex life". "He's chemilly strated bee he adms to beg a homosexual; he talks about entreatg a young man to touch his penis.

"If you need to see that to unrstand that he's gay, then all is lost for any kd of subtle storytellg.

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH TALKS ABOUT GAY SEX SCEN (OR LACK OF) THE IMATN GAME

The many fac of Benedict Cumberbatch Show all 12Director Morten Tyldum also mented on the lack of gay sex, addg that was a "very nsc choice" as Turg's sexualy was "jt one part of the character that [he] wanted to reveal" Knightley, Allen Leech, Matthew Goo and Rory Knear also star alongsi Cumberbatch the film, which is already beg tipped for an is due for release UK cemas on 14 November. ” But addn to beg a brilliant scientist and a World War II hero for crackg the German “Enigma” , Turg was also a homosexual man, a fact that would ultimately lead to his arrt and forced chemil stratn at the hands of his ernment—and his subsequent suici.

I shouldn’t be y: This was a damn good movie—not perfect, but very effective as both a sprely (somewhat fictnalized) wartime genre adventure and a eply movg recuperatn of one of the greatt gays who ever lived. While his homo-nature is certaly not hidn the film, ’s more talked about than lived , if you know what I mean. That’s not to say that we need a gay sex scene, as some have suggted; the omissn of that sort of thg seems plsible to me given the perd of tense work on which this film foc.

BUT IS IT GAY ENOUGH?: THE IMATN GAME

Rather, ’s jt disappotg that homosexualy is always prented (sympathetilly) as a problem for Turg, rather than a source of happs. At the same time, that feels like a reasonable narrative choice rather than a pout, bee Turg lived a time and place when the typil experience of male homosexualy would be worry and furtivens rather than joy and celebratn.

I liked that was a meetg of mds—she was one of the few people on his level, mathematilly speakg—and I appreciated that he told her he was gay, but that disclosure stck me as a b anachronistic.

In a way, proposg marriage he was tryg to rcue her, to save her om wastg her talents by beg stuck at home wh her parents, but she also almost saved him om gay leper-dom.

THE IMATN GAME DIRECTOR MORTEN TYLDUM: WE DIDN'T NEED GAY SEX SCEN

It has the technil meang, but also appli to the stggle for Turg, who at least this portrayal, seemed to lie somewhat on the tism spectm his abily to al wh social cu and nversatn, as well as the challenge many a gay man has faced “imatg” straight male behavr—the great pub scene wh the other Bletchley boys was particularly effective this regard, wh Turg blanchg durg a joke about straight oral sex. In fact, of urse, the thg Turg had mon wh most of the Cambridge rg was homosexualy. By punishg homosexualy so btally, the system ma gay men act like spi.

Lowr: Oh, I share your sadns at the nial of cred, and I was glad the film didn’t shy away om showg the btaly of the ernment’s treatment of Turg and other homosexuals wh “chemil stratn, ” which seemed to kill Turg’s md as well as his libido. (I did wonr for a send about portrayg the trogen sentence as full-on “cel” rather than “tragilly misguid for the time, ” given that the “treatment” is prented as a means of “curg” homosexualy, but perhaps that’s a level of nuance too far.

I’m very glad they chose not to go that route—not only bee of the problem of overassociatg gays wh suici—but also bee served to put the foc squarely on the system that put Turg that terrible posn the first place. I did not need to see a ad body to unrstand how homophobia killed him. It do not leave you feelg happy but, rather, soberly aware of the years of brilliance and joy that homophobia has st the world ( this se and untls others), how absurd and wasteful all is.

<I>THE IMATN GAME</I>'S ALAN TURG -- A GAY MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

Not that the mid-20th-century persecutn of gays is directly parable wh the horrors of slavery, but both are films that, bee they are set at a safe historil remove, allow to look back and feel good that those particular kds of blatant discrimatn are behd —even though more subtle equi survive today.

I thk there’s a difference here bee the film don’t revel gross homophobic language or scen of hate crim; stead, shows how homophobia n be ightengly ol and burecratized. Alan Turg was a closeted gay man Rulg: Fact Alan Turg was gay at a time when homexual activy was outlawed England.