Love will tear us apart...

I'm only a casual New Order fan, and truth be told, I haven't listened to all that much of their earlier work as Joy Division. So I was more than surprised to have enjoyed Control as much as I did, a tragic biopic film of the late Ian Curtis.

As the lead singer of a band emerging from the Manchester music scene that followed the influences of David Bowie, Lou Reed, and The Sex Pistols, life for Ian Curtis seemed to be coming together. But internally, he felt his life was falling apart. Trapped in a life married to a woman he cared for but didn't passionately love, Curtis struggled with his desires to pursue true love in the form of a beautiful Belgian journalist while still trying to figure out how not to hurt his own wife and child in the process. His struggles epilepsy and the pressures of fame attached to the rising success of his band Joy Division only add to his troubles, leading to the eventual tragic end when he hangs himself in his kitchen only a day before his band was to embark on their first American tour.

This is the debut film for Anton Corbijn, previously known for his music videos and photography work. Pull out the album cover for U2's The Joshua Tree, and you'll know what imagery he can capture on film. It is said that the gritty industrial surroundings of Manchester, UK were essential to the musical underpinnings that born bands such as Joy Division, Buzz Cocks, and The Smiths as well as their contemporaries Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses. Perhaps to capture this bleak environment Curtis' grew up and lived in, Control is shot in black and white. The cinematography that results is moody and spectacular, adding a whole new dimension to the depression and conflicts Curtis was trapped in. This is expected from a director whose background is in photography. However, Corbijn's treatment with the camera is additive to the overall product, and never overwhelms or distracts from the story. Sam Riley, playing the title role, is good in his role, although I'm not quite sure how much he truly embodies Ian Curtis given my lack of knowledge about the late singer. Samantha Morton, as his wife Deborah, probably gives the strongest performance, though, and you feel all sorts of sympathy for the situation she's left with. The formation of Joy Division plays a minor background part to the movie, and you almost want to learn a bit more about the other members of the band Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris.

Ian Curtis seems to have an almost cult following by fans of the post-punk Manchester music scene that may rival those for Jim Morrison or Kurt Cobain. The interesting approach Corbijn takes to Curtis in this film, though, is not to idolize his life and add to the mythology, but instead to paint a grim picture of a man with tangible struggles that we might all perhaps relate. It probably goes without saying that Wander and any other Joy Division/New Order fanatic would have loved this movie, and earned the highest rating possible on this blog. I'm not sure I'm ready to call it "Dangerously Cheesy," but it's pretty close in my book.