Control--Ian Curtis summed up in two hours

This evening I had the pleasure of watching a small independent screening: of Control--a recent biopic about Ian Curtis, the late frontman for Joy Division.

Joy Division's early photographer Anton Corbijn directed the film. Corbijn gives us a straight-no-chaser account of reality as it existed for Curtis. Bleak as the gray skies of Manchester in winter, and suitably shot in black and white. Notably, the screenplay for Control was based on Deborah Curtis's (the singer's widow) autobiography Touching From a Distance. Deborah Curtis also co-produced the film.

Corbijn's goal here was clearly accuracy, accuracy, accuracy...so much so, I'm told, that the actors portraying Joy Division actually learned to play their respective instruments--meaning that in the performance scenes, we are actually hearing exactly what we are seeing.
It's well known that Curtis committed suicide at the tender age of 23 and has been immortalized by droves of t-shirt wearing fans. This image should look familiar to you.

So you can rule out any shot of a happy ending to this film. Do expect a meticulous recreation of Curtis's brief, fiery, morose existence to the best ability of all involved.

One thing I'll make note of in regards to how Control compares to other celebrity biopics is the way the length and plotline play out. In most other films of this genre, you're often left feeling overwhelmed with information--a natural reaction to being subjected to an entire lifetime summed up by a few key events.

However, as Control focuses finitely on Curtis's rise to fame and his rapid career in music, there are only a few years' worth of time to cover. Chronologically speaking, I didn't feel that much of anything was left out, likely because there wasn't much to leave out.
The only element I feel is missing from Control is any amount of depth into Curtis's songwriting. The cast and crew make great efforts to deliver the intense performances as Joy Division would have put on, so we get the importance of the songs, the art--but that importance only comes across the screen in implication.

Much more time is spent on revealing the causes of Curtis's downfall: his affinity for prescription drugs, his inability to cope with love and heartbreak, his epileptic fits, his terminally angsty depressive attitude.

Those with a keen eye for aesthetics will surely appreciate the cinematography in Control--cleary having much to with Corbijn's background in photography. Fans of Joy Division (yes, even the purists) will appreciate the efforts made to depict the band and their songs as closely as we remember them.

I will leave you with the website and a trailer: