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‘Imitation Game’ trailer: Can Benedict Cumberbatch crack the code?

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Benedict Cumberbatch takes on another brilliant but troubled mind in the new trailer for “The Imitation Game,” a biopic about the British mathematician and cryptographer Alan Turing.

The video, which you can watch above, dramatizes Turing’s recruitment by the British government to help crack Nazi Germany’s Enigma code and turn the tide of World War II.

“Everyone thinks Enigma is unbreakable,” a grave-sounding, high-ranking military official (Charles Dance, a.k.a. Tywin Lannister of “Game of Thrones”) tells Turing.

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“Let me try, and we’ll know for sure,” Cumberbatch’s Turing says matter-of-factly.

In addition to the high stakes of the war, the trailer also underscores Turing’s personal turmoil: Despite his mathematical genius, or perhaps because of it, he doesn’t work well with others, and he’s further isolated by his homosexuality, for which he would face persecution after the war.

With its serious-minded historical drama, starry cast (including Keira Knightley and Mark Strong) and end-of-the-year release date, “The Imitation Game” would appear to have awards-season aspirations.

Cumberbatch has earned praise for his previous portrayals of frosty geniuses, including Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in “The Fifth Estate” and Sherlock Holmes in the British TV series “Sherlock,” but the 38-year-old actor has yet to receive an Oscar nomination in his career. Of course, cracking that code is its own challenge.

Weinstein Co. will release “The Imitation Game” on Nov. 21.

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