I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
Any music fan worth their salt will have a fleeting appreciation for Joy Division, a band so miserable that the premature deaths of many sad souls can surely be held responsible to it. Fronted by Ian Curtis, whose oppressive outlook on life was bleak to say the least, Joy Division performed a certain sort of music that was intense in its darkness; relishing an overwhelming sense of misery. The appeal lay in the sparse instrumentation, the punk attitude combined with an English ordinariness. Joy Division had a sharp, snappy way of saying “We’re all f*cked.”
Who better to make a biopic on than Ian Curtis - one of those figures who, to coin a clichéd phrase, lived fast and died young. Control follows Curtis’ (Sam Riley) life from his final year at school in the boring Northern town of Macclesfield, hooking up with his best friend’s girlfriend Deborah (Samantha Morton), getting married almost immediately and joining the band that would only become huge years after his death. As the band begins to consume him, he loses interest in his dull day job at the employment office and also in his wife. Plagued by an increasing amount of epileptic fits, Curtis tries to balance his love between two women, a baby, and his fans. He fails and takes his own life on the eve of his break-through American tour, at the age of 23.
Director Anton Corbijn, who knew the band as a photographer for NME magazine, recreates the imagery of the period through stunning black and white cinematography, feeling that this was the best way to portray a band that rarely, if ever, was photographed in colour. The result is one of the most beautiful films of the year. Every shot is perfectly framed and immaculately presented, capturing an overcast English gloom that was such an influence on the band.
The performances are excellent, particularly Sam Riley’s turn as Curtis. He performs the songs himself, capturing both Curtis’ monotonous drone and his unusual style of dancing – like a tortured spider, reminiscent of the epilepsy which haunted him. Samantha Morton is suitably dowdy next to Curtis’ foreign mistress Annik (Alexandra Maria Lara). The other usual suspects – Tony Wilson, Bernard Sumner, etc – are all brought to life accurately, and Toby Kebbell is hilarious as their manger Rob Gretton.
Unexpectedly, the screenplay is very funny (Well, practically everyone is a joker next to Ian Curtis). The black humour gives the film a much needed balance. Whether it be bassist Peter Hook mocking the name of fellow band The Buzzcocks, or Tony Wilson signing a contract with his own blood, there’s always a laff to be 'ad.
But it has always been Joy Division, not its frontman, that achieved cult status. Certainly, it might have been appropriate to see more of the music-making process. The band, in a way, represented Curtis’ legacy. That was where his talent and influence lay. As an individual, he was nothing. But this, of course, is entirely the point. Control merges the man’s story with his music to create an extraordinary cinematic rendering of despair.
By Andrew Hedley, Flicks.co.nz
One of those movies where you get 'lost' amongst the characters and forget you are watching actors! Brilliant cast.
This is the best looking film I have seen this year. Told very well and very funny at parts. A must see
While I've heard people say the film was too obvious and that Corbijn draws too much on his inky photographic style. I say this is a great film. Awesome soundtrack (naturally) and a captivating watch dispite knowing the outcome. Very, very good.
It's rare that a biopic really gets into the head of its subject: real-life characters can be hard to penetrate, and many screenplays play it safe. Not Control. Curtis' wife co-produced the film - based on her own book - and helps provide a fascinating, intimate insight into the mind of her husband...
A film about creative and emotional burn-out that says more about the fragility of the soul than any montage of ticket sales and ‘sold out’ signs could ever muster...
It's also that he's really, honest-to-God, got one of those movie faces that doesn't even come along once every generation. It's astonishing...
It's Corbijn, shooting with a poet's eye in a harshly stunning black-and-white, who cuts to the soul of Ian's life and music. You don't watch this movie, you live it...
1/2 Playing the complicated chanteur, relative unknown Sam Riley is a revelation, eliciting both sympathy and anger from the audience, while the collie-mix who plays the family dog was a deserving nominee at last month's Fido Awards (losing out to The Queen's corgis). However, it's Samantha Morton (River Queen) who deserves the lion's share of the acting plaudits...
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 8th Nov 2007.
Release date: November 8th 2007.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
