Control

Control (2007)

As promised, I did get to the movies this weekend to see Control as I had seen the review at last weeks movie, and was looking forward to it. Initially played at recent film festivals and returned to arthouse cinemas for encore performances, Control is a biopic about Ian Curtis the lead singer of the band Joy Division. Having spent many late night hours, listening to alternative music from English radio charts in the late seventies and eighties, I was a big fan already. I knew how the story ended, but didn't know the rest of the details. What a dreary dull existence it seemed - working in the unemployment office of a northern English town by day, and rock star by night. Certainly a stark contrast to the money wasting, high living pseudo celebrities of today. They seem to have one mediocre hit and then be rolling in money, wearing Prada and partying like crazy.

When I was a student, on the road across from our flat was a large wall with the graffitis sprayed 2 metres high - Ian Curtis RIP. Twenty years on, the graffiti is still there.

See the BBC review here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2007/10/01/control_2007_review.shtml


A black and white film, showing his relationships, epilepsy, workings of the band and his depression, leading to his death at 23 - it it wrong to say I enjoyed it? Certainly there were awesome performances from Sam Riley as Ian Curtis and Samantha Morton as his wife, as well as a great soundtrack.

I am giving it a 4/5.