 |  | One More Life of (Not So) Quiet Desperation |  |
Control has some things going for it -- two very strong performances from San Riley as Ian Curtis and Samantha Morton as his wife, Debbie. It's also filmed in crisp, unforgiving black and white, calling to mind smoke-filled art house cinemas and the works they showed twenty years before Joy Division's short-lived moment. So I wanted to like it more than I did. But it's too long (doomed rock star biopics should never run more than 90 minutes) and it was hard for me at least to work up much sympathy for Curtis, who, as depicted here and aside from the medical issue of his epilepsy, created his own situation (he wanted to impulsively get married, he wanted to have a child) and then does not have the guts or the energy to either extricate himself from it or live with the consequences of his own actions and end his extramarital affair. Instead he spends a lot of time crying and feeling sorry, mostly for himself. I imagine there are lots of plumbers, stockbrokers, and farmers with exactly the same bad-decision trap as Curtis. How they deal with it might have made for a better movie, but we have Control instead because Curtis happened also to be a goofy, awkward lead singer with a frequent good lyrical bent.
November 8, 2008 | | Black and White suits the subject | |
We really enjoyed this movie. I've never seen Sam Riley act in anything before, but his portrayal of Ian Curtis in this movie was amazing. The black and white style of the film made the period of the late 70's and early 80's in England's music scene seem more effective. Samantha Morton did a good job of portraying Ian's wife as well. Highly recommended for Joy Division fans, or fans of that era in England's music scene.
November 1, 20081 Thing I got 2 Say About Control was "Kick @rse!" Because Sam Riley PLayed Ian Curtis,Lead Singer Of Joy Division Bloody good and he looked Like him and Even Samantha Morton Played His Wife,Debbie.I 1st Saw that Movie @ the Landmark Theatres Last year and I was Hooked!!!
October 24, 2008Good movie not only for the hard-core JD/NO fan, but for those who've heard the story and want the details.
From what has been published about the JD story, this movie seems dead-on accurate. And you get an eerie look at the breakdown and fall of Ian Curtis.
The Joy Division documentary fills in a couple of the gaps, and shows you what those around Ian felt about it all afterwards, so it's a good followup. But "Control" did a great job showing the story.
September 22, 2008Great movie, expressing beautifully the bleak urban landscape of Ian Curtis's life, and his vulnerability as a person. Bummer that the dialogue isn't quite synched to the video.
September 22, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
