Control

Director: Anton Corbijn

Starring: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton

Based on Deborah Curtis’s autobiography Touching From a Distance, Control is the biopic of Joy Division’s enigmatic lead singer Ian Curtis. The film begins when Curtis is in his mid-teens, uninspired by his education but infatuated with David Bowie, and gradually follows Curtis and the rising success of the band, a success that was paralleled with the anxieties and deterioration of his personal life. The film explores issues of his epilepsy diagnosis, his affair and subsequent failing marriage and the pressures of becoming a rising star and icon in the British music industry, eventually culminating in his suicide on the eve of Joy Division’s first American tour.

Anton Corbijn’s directorial debut in feature film is a poignant and aesthetically striking portrayal of Curtis’s tragic life. Shot in black and white, the film’s visual style evokes a working class realism that reflects the hardships of Curtis’s life but also manages to appear strangely beautiful, turning the streets of Macclesfield into an almost romantic backdrop that contrasts with the ominous events that gradually unfold within this setting. Sam Riley excellently takes on Curtis’s persona, imitating his on-stage mannerisms with a creative accuracy that that is maintained through his whole performance. Although Curtis is essentially quite a dislikeable character; Riley portrays him as intelligent, passionate man who is tormented by illness, his complicated love life, and his fear of losing control. Samantha Morton plays Curtis’s wife Deborah with an innocence and honesty which very much aligns the audience’s sympathy with her suffering of Curtis’s unpredictable and sometimes malicious behaviour.

Control is beautifully shot with a brilliant cast that offer sensitive and intelligent performances. The narrative structured around Curtis’s gradual emotional decline will keep you immersed until the inevitable tragic end; the film’s captivating, intense atmosphere will stay with you long after you’ve left the cinema.

Amy Flinders