05.05.08
Review: “Control”
Sam Riley as “Ian Curtis.”
Troubled lead singer of the 70s punk-band “Joy Division,” Ian Curtis, is given a perceptive but artful close-up in Anton Corbijn’s, a photographer and music video director, impressive feature film debut. Filmed in hues of black, grey and white that are nonetheless vibrant and anything but mundane, assumingly the shades in which lyrical poet Curtis dreamt, “Control” is as sharp and resonant as music, never mind rock music, biopics come. In between the internal war that raged within Curtis and the unfathomable silences of reality – he channelled his emotions into song, and his life, just as haunting as his voice, is no more explored than it is celebrated in this cinematic revelation.
The film opens with Curtis (Sam Riley) as a teenager with big dreams but little hope in his own destiny, most of the time his dreams are stalled by his exploration into the poetic realm of drug-idled philosophy. Upon meeting his best friend’s girlfriend at the time, Deborah (Samantha Morton), the two spark an attraction, eventually get married at a young age and become parents. This obviously leaves his dreams on the sideline, until he and his wife attend the legendary performance of the “Sex Pistols” in Manchester (Remember it in “24 Hour Party People” where Riley played The Fall singer ‘Mark E Smith’?) and joins a new band, Warsaw, out of blind ambition.
Before we even have time to gather our thoughts, the band gets a different name, “Joy Division,” a suitable manager and a record deal – they are well on their way. Curtis is just as perplexed by the rapid change in lifestyle, and his life slowly begins declining into a bottomless pit. He lives his life through the disdain and isolation of his lyrics, the only time he can clearly articulate his emotions – the only time he is in control.
To counteract the joyless life Curtis led, he begins having an affair with a Belgian reporter, Annik Honore (Alexandra Maria Lara), with whom he falls in a certain kind of love, one only Curtis could explain, at the same time he is in love with his wife – that too is a different kind of love. He was not ready for marriage or love, he was not ready for anything; his life was a dazed expression of something lurking deep in his subconscious, and the film does not try to justify his actions, explain them or even make much sense of them.
We are meant to observe and take part in a series of events, some dull yet homely and some illuminated by bright stage lights, and even though we know the result, we spend our time trying to figure out how and why such a conclusion was met – when his body and mind, riddled with epilepsy and fear, finally give up on him. He loses control one last time.
Calling “Control” well acted would be an understatement, with Riley and Morton both giving awards-calibre performances but that is not what is important about them. They give electric portrayals of lives bound by marriage, but torn apart by a complete difference in emotion and ideals. We simply observe as these lives unravel, from a, often claustrophobic, distance until the end is spelt out with such tasteful artistry it almost seems like it was a part of a plan all along, as if everything unfolded exactly the way Curtis envisioned it lying on his single-bed as an aimless teen.
Without sensationalising a life that is well documented, but not to the point that we could call Curtis’s life “well-known,” director Corbijn knows the result is not pretty and remains empathetic towards Curtis’s life. The atmosphere, however, is not a stale or formulaic one, not filled with cliché and “rags to riches” tales – because that is not how it played out at all. In fact, “Joy Division” never quite hit it big (the remaining members of the bad dissolved into what would become “New Order”) – even if their music still lives on. Their music was the one part of Curtis that remains today, besides the child he fathered, until, of course, this fantastic film was made.
Fatac Rating: ****
Control. Directed by Anton Corbijn. Written by Matt Greenhalgh. Cinematography by Martin Ruhe. Starring: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Toby Kebbell, Joe Anderson, Alexandra Maria Lara and Craig Parkinson. Running Time: 122 minutes. Age Restricion: TBC. Year: 2007. Rating out of five stars.
J.D. said,
May 5, 2008 at 4:02 pm
You are the greatest writer in the history of humanity.
GOD, I can’t wait to see this. :)
Nick Plowman said,
May 5, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I am not that good with compliments, especially of that magnitude, but thanks….I cannot wait for you to see it either, it is mighty impressive.
J.D. said,
May 5, 2008 at 4:30 pm
‘Tis true, monsieur. Verily. :)
Michael said,
May 5, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Control was a great film. I was very disappointed with the lack of awards for Morton and Riley though. I really felt they gave performances that should have been heralded more.
Great review.
Matthew Lucas said,
May 5, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Very well said Nicky. I think this film was terribly overlooked last year, especially the gorgeous cinematography. It was one of the most beautiful films I saw last year.
Nick Plowman said,
May 5, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Thanks Matt and Mike, we all share the same kind of appreciation of the film, it was well acted – it was gorgeous and horribly overlooked, at least we give it the appreciation it deserves ;)
Miranda Wilding said,
May 6, 2008 at 2:58 am
Ohhhh….I LOVED THIS.
Saw it last fall. It played here all autumn. (That’s from approximately October well into the Christmas season for those of you in SA.) J.D., you really have something to look forward to.
SAM RILEY is absolutely extraordinary in his film debut. This guy is going to be a star. I’m almost positive of that. If you look at old footage of Ian Curtis, Sam Riley’s portrayal of him is almost uncanny. You can’t believe it’s not the same man. He goes much much deeper than a mere imitation, though. He is just unbelievably awesome.
Samantha Morton is also excellent. Gorgeous, evocative black and white cinematography that genuinely added to the story rather than detracted from it. Anton Corbijn’s direction is fantastic. The music is terrific.
Can’t say enough about this film. Killed me to have it drop out of my Top 5…and then my Top 10. *sigh* It was such a great year I feel it likely got overlooked in a lot of respects. But it is a wonderful film.
Everyone, SEE CONTROL! NOW!!!
Nick Plowman said,
May 6, 2008 at 4:16 am
Me too!
Lucky you, I had to wait forever to see it, on DVD.
I agree with you on every level I guess – about the film, Riley will become a star, Morton was brilliant and the film did get overlooked :(
But, it is not in my top 10 either – somewhere near there and I will buy the DVD as soon as I can, “Control” is indeed a film everyone should see.
Dorothy Porker said,
May 7, 2008 at 2:44 am
Beautiful review. This is simply my favorite film of the year. I was incredibly sad when the wheels of award season failed to turn for Sam and company.
Nick Plowman said,
May 7, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Thanks for the visit Dorothy!
I wish I had seen it earlier – it is brilliant. Better late than never, right?
K. Bowen said,
May 7, 2008 at 4:23 pm
A really outstanding film.
Dorothy Porker said,
May 8, 2008 at 12:00 am
Absolutely, Nick. It is an incredibly moving film and Sam gives one of the most beautifully crafted performances of the year. I’m sure the film will find its audience eventually, it’s too great not to.
Nick Plowman said,
May 8, 2008 at 1:29 pm
So agreed!
The fact that it was not released in cinemas in South Africa annoys me, but those who I have told about the film have subsequently rented it on DVD – and loved it. Sam could not have been better – at all, and it is a shame he did not get much attention from the awards givers, but in the film community, especially online, he received tons of love – so he really hit it off with us film lovers and that is what counts.
Dave said,
August 30, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Never read this before, but my word did I miss out. This was one of my favorite films of last year, and I cherish my DVD of it. It is brilliant