Question: Why was Preston a private and not an officer like the rest?
Answer: Preston was loosely based on the real-life Lincoln Kirstein. Prior to WWII, he was a noted writer and an influential person in the cultural arts in America. When the war broke out, he enlisted in the army with the rank of private. He eventually joined the Army's Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives unit, later known as the Monuments Men. He was selected for his abilities, regardless of his military rank. The movie reflected that.
Question: Near the end of the film, Stephen asks Jane how long he has to live, and she says two years. But I thought they already established he had two years near the start of the film. Can someone please explain this?
Chosen answer: Throughout his existence, prognoses of the life expectancy for Dr. Stephen Hawking have been repeatedly offered and then surpassed. He continues to amaze with not only his brilliance, but his resilience. In this case it sounds like a callback to the initial estimate, which was demonstrably inaccurate.
Question: Dave Schultz trained Kurt Angle. Did Kurt (or at least someone playing him) appear in the film?
Answer: No actor is credited for the role of Kurt Angle, and there are no overt references to him in the film.
Thank you.
Question: When they finally break the code, Turing reads the decrypted message. Wouldn't it have been in German, which he earlier in the film admitted he did not read?
Answer: It is in German; you can see it as it's being written down. Afterwards, Turing doesn't read it out; Cairncross hands it to Alexander, who reads it aloud (in English).
Chosen answer: Chris has "shooter's strawberries" on his elbows, which are red callouses caused by lying in the sniper's position for long periods. He notices the same marks on the elbows of the father, and realizes that he too is a military sniper.
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