Review of Control (2007) by Narges M — 08 Dec 2009

There couldn't possibly be a better director for the job filming a biopic on the late and well-respected Ian Curtis and the developmental stages of his band Joy Division in the late 1970's / early 1980's than a guy who was a photographer for the actual band during their prime: Anton Corbijn.

His filmography only contains collective music videos from the likes of Metallica, Depeche Mode, and U2 - but his debut feature film 'Control' boasts him as a cinema-naturale. Newcomer Sam Riley plays the seemingly soulless Ian Curtis, portraying his early passion for music, then his entrance to an unexpected full force of fame and musical stardom which quickly lead to his suicide at the age of 23.

Samantha Morton (one of my absolute favorite actresses of this decade) plays the role of his dearly-devoted girlfriend-turned-wife Deborah Curtis, who would later author the autobiography in which the film was based from.

'Control' deeply explores teenaged musical passion - then grabbing that passion by the balls to create somewhat of a musical revolution. Joy Division's tasteful, yet somewhat effortless guitar and bass lines are easily mimicked accurately in the actors' playability (they learned the songs themselves) and stage stance - and Sam Riley perfects Ian Curtis' stage entity of flailing arms and tantrums.

The black and white was actually a post-production move, which made the 35 mm film look timelessly grainy. The look and feel truly captures the youthful breath behind England's punk rock music scene, while forming a visual outlet for the luridly magnetic sounds of what Joy Division delivered to what we know as New Wave.

As the film progresses, it penetrates more of Ian Curtis' soul, and further explores the true division of himself: how he became less and less predicated by art and poetry, how he felt less and less moved by the success of what he helped create, and what dragged him away from the constance of his relationship with Deborah - and what further lead him to have a loveless affair with an attractive journalist.

While the film explores the sensation of the band itself and its supposed mark on music, as well as an innocent portrait of the excitement of artistic success, it fails to really pull the viewer into the poetic and troubled mind behind the art (aside from maybe two instances of obvious song-lyric inspirations), and we also aren't given the opportunity to witness his relationship with his infant son; as if the child weren't much of a key role in Curtis' life.

Either way, 'Control' is a real-to-the-core depiction of rise and fall - in which the icon is flawed with chains of realism.