Control 8.3/10

Anton Corbijn moved from the Netherlands to England in the late 70s. A budding rock photographer he quickly established himself as a regular contributor for the NME. It was in this capacity he first encountered Joy Division. His days working with Manchurian quartet would leave an indelible impression on Corbjin, finally reaching its climax with this biopic of the brilliant but doomed vocalist Ian Curtis. It's Corbjin directorial debut and its a triumph.

All to often biopics become insipid odes by fans of the protagonist, failing to expose more of the subject then presented in a weekly tabloid. Thankfully 'Control' offers a level of intamacy with Curtis that is equally as surprising as it is sad and disturbing. The credit for this lies primarily with the movies source material, Ian Cutis's wife, Debbies autobiography 'Touching from a Distance'. Curtis is played by virtual unknown Sam Riley (bar a cameo performance in 24 hour party people playing Mark.E.Smith). His performance is remarkable. His ability to capture Curtis's manner and especially his vocals is uncanny.

'Control' introduces us to Ian Curtis as a high school student living in bleak Manchester and obsessed with Bowie. He meets Debbie while still a schoolboy and quickly they develop a bond that seems incongrous with their age. They waste little time in marrying, still teenagers in fact. From these early years it's obvious that Curtis has a love of words and poetry, quoting Wordsworth at one point and constantly scribbling poems and abstract lines into a note pad. The genesis of Joy Division occurs at the infamous Sex Pistol's Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall on 4 June 1976 (same venue as Dylan's famous electric bootleg). Of the 40 or so people who showed many were inspired to play music. In attendance were Mark.E.Smith, Morrissey, The Buzzcocks, members of Simple Red and Tony Wilson. All four members of the soon to be Joy Division were also in attendance. Following the gig Ian Curtis approached the other members (Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris) about becoming their lead singer. He was accepted with hesitation.

We are then taken along the meteoric rise of Joy Division to cult stardom. Their success was juxtoposed by the simple working class domesticity that Curtis, his wife and new daughter were creating. A life that Curtis found hard to reconcile with his increasing stardom. We see glimpses of the early days of Warsaw through the history of Joy Division. It looks at the recording process, the ever growing live show (including some gigs performed exclusively to skinheads - they were bouyed not so much by the music as the name. Joy Division was the term for the prostitution wing of the Nazi concentration camps.) Of these the most fascinating aspect was the studio time. Thankfully the role of Martin Hannett the bands producer is not glossed over. He was responsible for many of the unusual and exotic sounds that litter many of Joy Divisions better tracks. He also had the ability to get the best out of the band, especially Curtis. This is highlighted beautifully during a shot of Curtis delivering the vocal on 'Isolation'

The film depicts the rise of Joy Division wonderfully but the heart of the film and of Ian Curtis's life is the great dichotomy between the bands success and his desperate misery. Curtis's despair is laid bare for the audience to engulf. At its heart is his guilt at his lack of faithfulness towards his young family. While touring Europe Curtis meet Annik, a Belgian women. They fast become lovers. Though he felt isolated from his home life and he still wore a heavy guilt for in his mind he was not only cheating on his wife but destroying his young family. Despite his hostility there was a part of that life he could not surrender, neither was he able to relinquish Annik. His worsening health also pulled heavily on him. In his late teens, the early days of the band, he developed epilepsy. What started as a one off attack fast became a regular and ever increasing problem. Seizures often attacked while on stage. Doctors seemed helpless all they could do was try (unsuccessfully) different drugs while explaining the ever deteriorating prognosis. It weighed heavily on Curtis, in a letter to Annik he explains that the outlook had got worse and that he tells her this knowing it was possible that it could well mean she would lose interest in him. Equal to these was Curtis's dissatisfaction with his life as a star. At one point a voice over of Ian's character reads a letter that he wrote. In it he says that he no longer has the passion and feels disingenuous while performing live. What struck me most about this letter was how very similar it sounded to Kurt Cobain's suicide note. He was a 'fake', no longer enjoying being a performer, should of broken up after the first album etc etc. These points are eerily recreated in the Cobain's final note, (My wife lent over during the film and said 'Kurt cheated, he copied his note'.) The film doesn't exploit Curtis's depression but neither does it gloss it over. Corbijn was sensitive but at the same time unnervingly honest.

On May 18th, 1980 after watching Werner Herzog's film Stroszek and listening to Iggy Pop's The Idiot Ian Curtis hung himself in his then estranged wife's kitchen. He was 23. It was two days before the band were set to embark on their first tour of the US. 'Love will Tear us Apart' was the bands first true hit single. The potential that Joy Division showed at this time was immeasurable. Debbie Curtis's autobiography, Anton Corbijn direction and Sam Riley's uncanny portrayal all combine to ensure 'Closer' is indeed a wonderful representation of the short but memorable life of Ian Curtis.

To download : Joy Division - The Complete Peel Sessions It includes an interview with Ian Curtis recorded by the BBC.

The Control Trailer follows :