Control (The Miriam Collection)

 

 

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Control (drama, biography, music)
Directed by Anton Corbijn
Starring Sam Riley, Samantha Morton and Alexandra Maria Lara

Alliance | 2007 | 122 min | Rated R | Released Mar 08, 2011

Video:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles:
None

Discs:
50GB Blu-ray Disc
DVD copy

Control won 25 awards, including three at Cannes, and was nominated for two BAFTA awards in the UK. The film is yet to receive a Blu-ray release in the US, but has been released in Germany and Canada. This review covers the Canadian version, which is locked to Region A.

The film made just under $8 million worldwide owing to the dark subject matter and the fact that Joy Division's music still isn't widely known. That's a shame because Corbijn (The American) has made a wonderful film.

This is the story of Ian Curtis who was the lead singer for Joy Division until his suicide in 1980. He died on May 18, so it was 31 years ago today at the time of writing.

I wanted to see the film because Joy Division is still one of my Top 5 bands 30 years later. I know who made me the tape so that I could hear debut album Unknown Pleasures for the first time and I remember who I was with and where I was when the news leaked that Curtis was dead.

It wasn't easy to find a theater which was showing the film when it was released so I ended up hunting down an obscure run-down cinema in downtown Toronto to even see it. About six other people showed up. Every single one appeared deeply moved and on the verge of tears after the film. I'm happy to finally own it on Blu-ray.

The main problem I have with this review is that I went in loving the band and knowing most of the story. Did it work for me because of that, or is it truly a great story that will appeal to people who know nothing about Curtis or Joy Division? It partly depends on whether you like the dark, brooding music, but it works for some people who don't like the band at all.

The film is bleak. It appears in black and white and is set in a northern town in England (Macclesfield). The houses are small, the streets are narrow and it rains often. This is all true. It's a depressing part of the country. The dreary setting matches the atmosphere of the music and the band's tale. The film shows how the band came into existence and their early successes such as recording, getting a recording contract and appearing on TV, but this isn't a true biopic.

Although I knew the lyrics and understood what the words meant before I saw the film, I didn't know the origin of those lyrics. The film ties together some of the events in the life of Curtis with the origin of the songs. When you see what She's Lost Control is really about, it adds new layers of meaning. If you think Love Will Tear Us Apart sounds like a pop song, it takes on a more sinister tone when you understand why he wrote it.

The actors rehearsed together to get the songs right so that they could play them in the film rather than miming. Corbijn never intended to include real performances of the music, but the "band" convinced him. The first time I heard the first note of the first song played in the film, I felt a huge surge of emotion.

Sam Riley manages to look very similar to Curtis and must have spent a long time studying the few examples of Curtis performing the songs. He mimics the actions perfectly and sounds like him too. It was almost like stepping back in time and experiencing a Joy Division concert. Samantha Morton gives a strong performance, managing to look like a young girl and then his wife and the mother of his child.

There's a lot of truth in this film too. Deborah Curtis (his wife) wrote the book Touching From A Distance which tells what really happened. The screenplay was adapted from that book and the details are as true as possible. Corbijn shot some of the iconic photographs of Curtis and the band while working as a photographer for the New Musical Express in England. This was a labor of love.

The result is a moving drama detailing the final few years of Curtis' life. It doesn't hold much back, showing his faults as well as his redeeming qualities. It's the story of a young man (23 when he died) who was in a situation he couldn't control. Loving and hating two different women, a parent at a young age, success at a level that was hard to imagine and all the while dealing with epilepsy. His character says in the film that the audience didn't realize how much he gave during a performance, or how draining it was and how painful to access the emotions to perform those songs. To the audience, they were songs. To Curtis, they were hideous parts of his life.

I found the film incredibly moving, haunting, captivating, happy and sad. I'm glad that Curtis will be introduced to new audiences through this film. Joy Division is important to me and Control is one of the most prized Blu-rays in my collection.

Video Quality 4.5/5
The film was shot in color and transferred to black and white and the images suit the mood of the film perfectly. Detail is sharp throughout and the print is clean and natural in appearance. I have also seen the German release and the presentation is similar. It's hard to imagine the film looking any better.

Audio Quality 5/5
The sound is the best I have ever heard where music is concerned. It's as good as listening to a CD on high quality equipment. The songs have a lot of depth and range and it's easy to pick out individual instruments. The dialogue is also clear.

Special Features 4/5

Audio commentary with director Anton Corbijn.

Making of Control, featuring interviews with Corbijn, the writer and some of the actors (24 minutes).

Extended live performances from the film:

Transmission
Leaders of Men
Candidate

Music Videos:

Atmosphere - Joy Division
Transmission - Joy Division
Shadowplay - The Killers

Two theatrical trailers.

Joy Division's music isn't for everyone, but this is an interesting look at the life of Ian Curtis whether you are a fan or not. The presentation from Alliance is superb and I would recommend it to anyone capable of viewing Region A material. The actors do a wonderful job and the music sounds authentic. It will send shivers down your spine.

Overall score 5/5

Joy Division are a group that require little introduction to those familiar with the late-70's and 80's post-punk scene. One of the most influential rock bands of all-time, it grew out of 4 guys from Manchester in love with punk bands such as the Buzzcocks and the Sex Pistols. But rather than having a similar sound to those punk bands, Joy Division's sound was something entirely new, ushering the post-punk sound, one that combined the raw edge of punk but with gothic and dramatic tendencies. This sound would prove influential to countless 80's bands and also more recent ones, most notably "Interpol" and "Editors". The Joy Division story is a tragic one, as singer Ian Curtis committed suicide at the age of 23. The remaining members then went on to form New Order, sell 20 million albums in the process and the rest is history. "Control" is a semi-autobiographical look at Curtis' rapid rise to fame and equally fast descent into despair.

The story traces Curtis' life from the age of 16 and beyond. A David Bowie worshipping, chain-smoking, distracted teenager, Curtis never quite fit in with the school crowd and used music and poetry as an outlet to his emotions. He married while still in high school and had a child shortly thereafter, all of this before being in the band. Then the story shows us how he met up with the other band members and their rapid rise to fame. Throughout all this, Curtis worked a day job as an unemployment office counselor and had to tend care to his wife and newly-born daughter. The struggle between being in the band and being on the road (which in itself was not quite enough to pay the bills) and his family responsibilities not to mention his epileptic condition proved to be too much for Curtis to bear and the movie concludes with him tragically putting an end to his life.

I found "Control" to be bar none of the best movie bio-pics ever. The director's decision to make the movie in black and white is an absolutely brilliant one, as it accurately catches the essence of he band, whose artwork was always in black and white and also gives the picture the gritty feel it merits. The best part of the movie of course is the breakout performance of Sam Riley as the title character, who nails Curtis to the point of eeriness. The downcast looks, the hairstyle, the jittery movements on stage, everything is bang-on. I read somewhere that the singer of New Order had to stop watching the film midway because Riley bore too much of a resemblance to Curtis that it was scary to him. I can see why. Another star in this movie is the music. Joy Division's music is great of course, but the way the director selectively uses songs that fit the mood of what's currently unfolding on screen is remarkable.

If I were to have one issue with this film I would have to say that the reason for some of Curtis's emotions are never really explained. Why exactly is he so depressed when he has so much to be proud of? Why did he stop loving his wife so suddenly when she never stopped loving him? Maybe Curtis proved to be so complex of a character that even he himself didn't really know who he truly was. It should be noted that this DVD offers generous extras such as a commentary track, a 20mns making-of documentary, a director interview, still gallery, promotional materials, extended live performances from the film. But the highlight would have to be the music videos, where we see the real Curtis performing on BBC and see just how much of a resemblance there is between him and the actor that portrays him. Overall, "Control" is brilliant, essential stuff for both fans and also non-fans who just want to sit through a great drama. Highly recommended!

'Control' is an okay film, but the music of Joy Division transcends the script and storyline. Let's face it, 'Control' would be bleak and depressing if not for the beautiful music. I never understood why people think of Joy Division as some kind of morbid 'downer' group. Their music always moves me and inspires me...it is a fabric of light, wove from choking strands of sadness and confusion.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent movie, one of the best bio pics ever!!!
This is one of the best bio pics I have ever seen since Walk the Line Coal Miner's daughter and Beyond the Sea. Read more

Published on July 12 2008 by Wariner

5.0 out of 5 stars Riley is almost unnervingly true to Ian Curtis in appearance and spirit.
For those like me for whom Joy Division -- in cutting poetic lyrics, bass and guitar counterpoint, beat and gravity -- was THE band that spoke to and for the anguished heart of... Read more

Published on Jun 23 2008 by Illiniwek

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