Control (2007)

A profile of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic singer of Joy Division whose personal, professional, and romantic troubles led him to commit suicide at the age of 23.

Director:

Anton Corbijn

Writers:

Deborah Curtis (book), Matt Greenhalgh (screenplay)

Stars:

Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Craig Parkinson

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 31 wins & 34 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Riley	...	Ian Curtis
Samantha Morton	...	Debbie Curtis
Alexandra Maria Lara	...	Annik Honore
Joe Anderson	...	Peter Hook aka Hooky
James Anthony Pearson	...	Bernard Sumner
Harry Treadaway	...	Steve Morris
Craig Parkinson	...	Tony Wilson
Toby Kebbell	...	Rob Gretton
Andrew Sheridan	...	Terry
Robert Shelly	...	Twinny
Richard Bremmer	...	Mr. Curtis - Ian's Father
Tanya Myers	...	Ian's Mother
Martha Myers Lowe	...	Ian's Sister (as Martha Myers-Lowe)
Matthew McNulty	...	Nick
David Whittington	...	Chemistry Teacher

Storyline

Ian Curtis is a quiet and rather sad lad who works for an employment agency and sings in a band called Warsaw. He meets a girl named Debbie whom he promptly marries and his band, of which the name in the meantime has been changed to Joy Division, gets more and more successful. Even though Debbie and he become parents, their relationship is going downhill rapidly and Ian starts an affair with Belgium Annik whom he met after one of the gigs and he's almost never at home. Ian also suffers from epilepsy and has no-good medication for it. He doesn't know how to handle the feelings he has for Debbie and Annik and the pressure the popularity of Joy Division and the energy performing costs him.

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Plot Keywords:

band | singer | suicide | depression | punk rock | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

The black-and-white film was actually shot in color, then transferred to black and white because, according to the director, the black and white film "was so grainy it looked like Super-8 even in 35 millimeter."

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Goofs

Joy Division is shown performing "Transmission" on Tony Wilson's television show in September 1978, but in reality, they performed "Shadowplay". The performance that is represented in this scene actually took place a year later in September 1979 on the BBC2 program "Something Else", when they performed "Transmission" (a performance which was used as the music video for the song) and "She's Lost Control".

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Quotes

Ian Curtis: Side effects include: drowsiness, apathy, and blurred vision... I'm taking two.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojoUK: Top 10 British Music Biopics (2019)

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Soundtracks

Drive-In Saturday
(David Bowie)
Published by kind permission of Tintoretto Music/RZO Music Ltd/EMI Music Publishing Ltd/Chrysalis Music Ltd © 1973
Performed by David Bowie
Courtesy of RZO Music

User Reviews

Depressingly Beautiful

For every icon, there is an unknown predecessor who paves the way. Before there was Kurt Cobain, there was Ian Curtis, lead singer of the post-punk band, Joy Division. 27 years after his tragic death, Curtis' incredible contribution to music is finally being recognized in Anton Corbijn's film, "Control." It's only fitting that Corbijn serve as director since it was his early photographs of Joy Division that reflected the band's dark, introspective songs. Corbijn went on to photograph and direct videos for such musical greats as U2, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, R.E.M. and Metallica.

With his first feature film, Corbijn avoids the pitfalls of many music video directors who inundate us with flashy and unnecessary edits and camera angles. Instead, he lets the stark black and white of the film tell the story of a lead singer tortured by epilepsy, guilt, depression and suicidal thoughts. The use of black and white also captures the factory town of Manchester, England in the late 1970s, a city crumbling under industrial and economic stress. Manchester has since rebounded and is once again thriving.

Curtis is played by relative newcomer, Sam Riley, who's quiet and unassuming approach portrays an artist inspired by his heroes, David Bowie and Iggy Pop. At a chance meeting following a Sex Pistols concert, Curtis bonds with three fellow musicians to form the band.

As Joy Division begins to flourish, Ian's relationship with his young wife, Deborah, continues to distance itself. Academy Award nominee, Samantha Morton plays the confused wife trying to understand her husband's depressed soul. The film is based on Deborah Curtis' autobiography, "Touching From A Distance", so it comes as a surprise that Morton's character does not have more scenes in the movie.

The key to Control is understanding Curtis' depression, which the film accomplishes to near perfection. As he battles epilepsy, the young singer lives in constant fear that his next seizure will be his last. His only option is to swallow a daily cocktail of prescription drugs with side effects so terrible, that most of us would rather tempt fate than endure the aftermath of the pills.

Ian's spirit is also tortured by overwhelming guilt brought on by an extra-marital affair with a part-time journalist, played by Romanian-born Alexandra Maria Lara.

The most telling scene comes when Ian records an in-studio track for the song "Isolation." While Curtis stoically sings into the microphone, his band mates are distracted with the normal banter that typically occurs in a studio.

"Mother, I tried, please believe me. I'm doing the best that I can. I'm ashamed of the things I've been put through. I'm ashamed of the person I am." The lyrics seem to fall on deaf ears except for those of the sound engineer who refers to it as "genius." But Ian's brilliance is also a desperate cry for help ignored by everyone in the studio.

The 27-year-old Riley does an excellent job of capturing Curtis' aloofness on stage. Singers such as Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and even the early years of Michael Stipe would often drift into the moment of the song. But when Curtis performed, he immersed himself into his own world where the music simply served as the soundtrack. Riley skillfully draws us into Ian's dark world with a range of subtle head movements and facial expressions to a whirling explosion of arm gyrations that came to personify the singer's stage performances.

Overwhelmed with grief, shame and depression, Ian finally succumbs to his demons at the young age of 23. He left behind a wife, a child and a musical legacy that is finally receiving its just rewards nearly three decades later.

For those looking for a story solely about Joy Division, Control may not be for you. But for those seeking an intuitive perspective into the anguished spirit of one of the most influential alternative bands in history, you will certainly find it in this depressing but incredibly beautiful film.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Germany]

Country:

UK USA Australia Japan France

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 2007 (France)

Also Known As:

Control

Filming Locations:

Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

EUR4,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,674, 14 October 2007

Gross USA:

$872,252

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,159,508

Company Credits

Production Co:

Becker Films, CINV, Claraflora

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1