Control
November 17th, 2007 - Posted in movies, reviews, time out - by Sarah|
Control is a dramatised bigraphy of Ian Curtis, the short lived lead singer of Joy Division. It’s beautifully shot and, as is to be expected, has a great soundtrack – not just JD but many other bands of their era. I find films like this hard to place. Should it be thought of as almost-documentary or as reality-fiction? The director has gone to great lengths to duplicate the look and style of the people involved, particularly when the band’s on stage. But with so many of those who are represented (notably Ian’s wife, Deborah Curtis) being involved in the film’s making it has to be a pretty subjective view of what actually happenned. That said, there don’t seem to be any conclusions by hindsight. The reasons behind his life, loves and death are all left for the viewer to decide for themselves.
I found the film slightly disappointing. Partly because of all the superlatives used in the reviews I have read to date. While it’s very watchable, it never reached out and grabbed me or made me really feel for any of the characters. It’s possible that this was deliberate, a way to help us identify with the isolation of depression. If so, I felt it it backfired. I suspect that if you’re a Joy Division fan and can add in from your own memory all the emotion and drama that the movie leaves out the film is a lot more special.
