Control
I have always been a huge fan of Joy Division and New Order, so had high expectations of this long awaited biopic of Ian Curtis, who tragically committed suicide at just 23 in 1980. Thankfully, director Anton Corbijn’s wonderful film does not disappoint.
Ian Curtis grew up in Manchester in the 70’s listening to the likes of Iggy Pop and David Bowie. Following the punk scene, he and fellow teenagers Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris decided to form a band called Joy Division, provocatively named after a Nazi brothel (they also used some Nazi inspired artwork that caused certain sections of the press to mistakenly label them right wing). Needless to say, anyone who knows pop music history knows Joy Division went on to produce some phenomenally influential albums, but Ian Curtis wasn’t ready to be thrust into fame so quickly. A combination of epilepsy, the drugs he was taking to combat the epilepsy, and anguish over being in love with two women ultimately caused him to take his own life.
All of which makes this film sound immensely depressing, and to a point it is. But screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh’s adaptation of Deborah Curtis’s autobiographical book ensures the story is laced with dark humour and humanity. Shot in stunningly beautiful monochrome, cinematographer Martin Ruhe brilliantly recreates the look and feel of the British “angry young men” films of the early 1960’s – A Taste of Honey, This Sporting Life, Billy Liar et al – not to mention some of the most memorable images from Joy Division’s all too brief existence as a band.
The cast are all superb, especially Sam Riley as Curtis whose performance dominates the entire film. The decision for him to sing instead of lip-synch to the Joy Division’s most memorable tracks proves as good a decision as it was for Joaquin Phoenix to sing Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. Off stage, he is also utterly convincing – by turns kind, cruel, remorseful, hypocritical, angry and utterly conflicted. The gradual realisation that he doesn’t want to be famous but thinks he has no choice is as brilliant a portrait of tormented musical genius as could possibly be hoped for. Those familiar with Joy Division’s music will know that their lyrics whilst poetic are astonishingly complex and dark. Certainly their best known song, Love will tear us apart, speaks of emotions no 23-year old should have to experience (Curtis couldn’t make up his mind whether his early marriage was a mistake, but didn’t want to leave his wife Deborah in spite of also being in love with his mistress Annik).
The rest of the band don’t get a huge amount of screen time, although their screen counterparts – Joe Anderson, James Anthony Pearson and Harry Treadaway as Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris respectively – do well with limited roles. Admittedly, Bernard Sumner gets slightly more scenes, since he went on to front New Order with the surviving members following Curtis’ suicide. New Order went on to become one of the greatest bands of the 80’s and early 90’s.
Elsewhere, Samantha Morton is surprisingly effective as Deborah, essentially a fairly thankless role. Alexandra Maria Lara provides a good counterpoint in Annik, Craig Parkinson is fine as Factory Records producer Tony Wilson (although not as good as Steve Coogan’s portrayal of the same character in 24 Hour Party People), and Tony Kebbell adds fine support as Rob Gretton, Joy Division’s amusingly foul mouthed manager. I should add that the film contains extremely strong language throughout.
As is often the case with such films, it is ultimately impossible to truly get inside the head of someone as enigmatic as Ian Curtis. However, Control is by no means a failure. It is best viewed as a cautionary tale about the trappings of fame, and Curtis’ slide into despair is profound, haunting and deeply moving.
Simon Dillon, October 2007.
