Review of Control (2013) by Andrew S — 22 Sep 2010

I didn't even know this movie existed until yesterday!

Been a huge fan of Joy Division for a very long time and with pretty good knowledge on the subject, I felt the writers told the story pretty accurately...unlike most biographical movies.

This story definately needed to be told!

Throughout the 80s there was so much speculation and until the internet, only word of mouth prevailed. I even heard that Ian stood on a block of ice whilst hanging himself to prolong the misery and another one that said he was jerking off on a block of ice.....gotta love high school trash talk!

Personally, I blame most of the suicides that were happening in the 80s on the Smiths and Joy Division, mainly because it wasn't yet cool to listen to these bands and being that, in high school, the jocks and cheerleaders ruled the 80s......there was not much room for the underground back then. (which was fine with my ilk, but some of the darker kids went out the same way Ian did).

So, if you were into Joy Division back then, chances are you took them VERY seriously, and like the Smiths, that could prove VERY dangerous for some!

Especially when all you have of the backstory is a glorified suicide, marking a generation of already darkly, disaffected youth with an even darker black smudge;.

Nowadays, the story of the depressed rock star syndrome has become somewhat its own fashion; a stereotype that many newbies out there have embraced as a "style", most of them don't even have issues, but dress and act for the public around them to save face........Ian Curtis was thee ORIGINAL tortured soul, in a time when it wasn't fashionable and in black and white no less!

That being said, the main thing I didn't like about this movie is that all the guys in the band were pretty. i'm getting tired of these blemish free, clean cut, bleached toothed pretty boys playing rock stars with issues...it's just not realistic! (unlike rock movies, such as "the Rose", "Sid & Nancy", or even "Spinal Tap").

The guy playing Ian Curtis did a good job EXCEPT for Ian's spastic dancing....it was obviously too choreographed and he obviously didn't feel the music at all!

There's a great selection of the Joy Division catalog in here for those of us who like more than just the typical singles compilation songs that people just can't get enough of, but most of them are actually sung by the actors, which was impressive as well....i only gave an 80% because i'm not a big fan of cover bands...hearing these songs for me was just one step off, prolly 'cuz I know these songs so well.....anyhoo......don't let that turn you off of seeing this movie...it captures an era in music before it'd been touched by enough controversy to get the attention of the masses.

Overall, there's nothing wrong with it in respect that it's pretty accurate to what really happened to the poor bastard, as well as portraying the bleak environment that spawned bands such as Joy Division, Modern English, Buzzcocks, Bauhaus, Depeche Mode and the Smiths.

Ian Curtis pretty much fucked it for his band mates, literally on the eve of their first American tour, at a time when they were about to explode! he was a self-absorbed, depressed fool who was destined for stardom, regardless if he lived or died.....very few rock fliks can pull off black and white, but I suspect the Bauhaus or Smiths movies will prolly do it as well....we will see!

The band that was Joy Division didn't leave us much to go on, but impactual music it was and is proving timeless with each new generation......and then, there's always New Order!