Is it really a biopic though? Just not sure that was the objective of the film with respect to Turing's story. You could argue it would have seemed...gratuito

Is it really a biopic though? Just not sure that was the objective of the film with respect to Turing's story. You could argue it would have seemed...gratuitous?? to allot significant time to his personal life in a movie primarily focused on telling the story (albeit with historical inaccuracies/omissions) of Turing's contributions to computer science (and more specifically to solving the enigma). Honestly though I see your point, because they did show the flashbacks to his childhood as some sort of vague attempt at character development. Might it have been best to just not discuss it altogether? You could argue the story is "dramatic" enough without it (winning a war!). To try to do both in 1.5 hours or whatever is asking a lot. There is precedent for all of this...it can be done and done well. The obvious comparison is "A Beautiful Mind" which takes a similar sort of framing story (brilliant academic's personal and professional life). They pulled it off there IMO and just weren't able to balance both here.