MOG

I finally got around to watching Control, the film about the last few years of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis' abbreviated life.  Based on the book written by Curtis' widow, Deborah, it was interesting, compelling, and moving.   It becomes even more of each when viewed along with the 2008 documentary, Joy Divison, and the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People, which touches on the Ian Curtis/Joy Division story in passing.  Each film has a different focus and perspective, forcing the viewer to piece together what might have happened.   No one was in the house when Curtis killed himself, and no one was inside his head during those final weeks leading up to his suicide, so piecing bits together provided by the people who were with him most is the best we can do to reconstruct the story.

While I recommend Control and 24 Hour Party People as entertaining films, I was disappointed in the Joy Divison documentary.  It is full of information, excellent footage past and present, and clever fades from recent images into older ones, however too much of that information gets lost in translation.  The Mancunian accents were heavy enough to make some of the interviews difficult to understand, even for someone who lived in the UK.  The fast (for a documentary) pacing, little breathing room between snippets, and the sometimes unconnected stew of interviews made divining the point of some segments impossible upon first viewing/hearing.  Also, while I know I'm not the fastest reader on the planet, almost every time text was displayed I had to rewind and then pause the DVD in order to not just comprehend but to simply read the words. There's no excuse for that.

That said, Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook has said that the film represents the truth "as opposed to the other one [Control] that didn’t," making it an absolute must-see for all Joy Division fans.

Official trailer for the Joy Divison documentary