Control (2007, D: Anton Corbijn) - Joy Division / Ian Curtis biopic
 

I didn't see a thread about this yet.

If you like/love Joy Division this is a must see.

Amazing photography, great performances. The love triangle bogs down most of the second half of the film, but I still thought it was quite worthwhile.

I saw it Friday. Great film. The actor who plays Ian is going places.

I loved the performances and the cinematography, but felt let down by the storyline. Biopics like Control generally fail when they attempt to present some objective truth about their subjects based on the subjective impressions of people that knew them: the inner lives of others, even that one person we are closer to than anyone else, remain mysteries to us. Control's Ian Curtis (Sam Riley) is composed of the recollections of his widow, Deborah Curtis, who shares co-writing credit and served as the film's executive producer. Like Hari in Solyaris who is incomplete because she's only a manifestation of Kris Kelvin's impressions of her, there appears to be nothing more to Ian than what Deborah believes to be the truth about him.

While Ian remains incomplete, Annik Honoré (Alexandra Maria Lara) is reduced to a cipher. We know nothing about her, and she appears to know nothing about Ian. Months into their relationship she implores him to open up by telling her his favorite film and color. That this conversation is the most intimate that they have beyond a clichéd marrying-young-is-a-mistake confession within hours of meeting, demonstrates how completely the deck is stacked against empathy for Annik and by consequence against understanding Ian's interest in Annik. The conclusion Control would have us draw is that Ian's tryst with Annik was the product of little more than base sexual desire muddled with repulsion at the banality of life with Housefrau Debbie (Samantha Morton) and baby. This does a disservice to Ian, Annik and, ultimately, Deborah.

Interesting. I'm a fan of his Depeche Mode stuff.

I really can't wait until it starts playing here. I am quite excited to see it.

Saw this a couple weeks ago and enjoyed the hell out of it. Probably pick up the DVD.

I normallly dislike musical biopics, but I thought that this, for the most part, did an excellent job of capturing the feel of being in a band and performing live.

I would have liked to have seen a deeper exploration of his relationship with his band members, and the bit with the hypnotism was kind of...I dunno, vague. But overall, fans of Joy Division should find plenty to like.

And yes, the black and white photography is gorgeous. I sat there for much of the film thinking, Why aren't there more movies that look like this?

Did they actually shoot in B/W or just strip the color?

EDIT: and here's what I found on imdb . . .

Don't see how that's possible unless Kodak's limited number of B/W stocks just super grainy now?

I started a thread about this a long, long ago but it soon died. I'm glad someone revived the topic.

Joy Division is my favorite band, so this movie was a must for me. I've been following it for about 3 years now. I live in Oklahoma City and I had to drive to Dallas Texas to see this and it was woth every bit of the trip. I loved this movie and it is easily my favorite film of 2007.

I thought Sam Riley did an amazing job as Ian.

I could see how some people could find this movie a little odd and kinda hard to follow and bleak in parts. I read Deborah's book (Touching from a Distance) and I know a lot about the history of the band, so this movie went in smoothly and made perfect sense.

The fact that all the actors played their own instruments and Riley sang all of Ian's parts is most impressive.

I will definately be owning the DVD release and if it comes and plays here in Oklahoma, I will be seeing it again.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I haven't seen the movie, but did read Deb's book. I understand a couple of things you are saying here, but there weren't too many people who knew Ian better than she did (or certainly as long as she did). Someone at work put the poster for this movie in our "free to take" pile and I snatched it up.