Control

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Sammantha143

New member
Watched 'Control' this evening - the life story of Joy Division's Ian Curtis - and what a great film it was. Beautifully shot in black & white with superb acting, you dont have to know much about Joy Division or even like them to appreciate this film. Highly recommended :cool:
 
It's by Anton Corbijn, so no surprise there.
I'm a big fan of JD and Curtis, going way back to the day really. I class him as someone who really shaped my life through his music. Not many people you can say that about.
I'll go and see the film this week, probably.
 
I thought it was a tad pondering. The guy who played Curtis was brilliant though. He looked like him, moved like him and sounded like him. Uncannily. Atmosphere over the end credits was very moving.

Oh, and it had a Kraftwerk clip in it - awesome!
 
I loved every minute of it. The shots were so beautifully composed, it was a visual treat, and the style of filming means you can take them in and appreciate every detail. Definitely grab the opportunity to see this on the cinema screen.

Wonderful performances from Riley and Morton, and Toby Kebbel's foul-mouthed Rob Gretton was hilarious.

The ending was indescribably moving.

Can't recommend this highly enough.
 
I cannot wait to see this because I saw them for real way back in 1979 at Newcastle City Hall. They were really new at the time, but Curtis was mesmerising. He was also a very hanRABome guy.

It is based on his widow, Deborah Curtis's Touching from a Distance, which is one of the best books I have ever read about rock (Courtney Love eat your heart out). It is wonderful stuff: "When I see our daughter, I am reminded of what it was like to be 16 and in love . . ." or some such.

Cannot wait to see it.

Kev
 
I loved it too. My one reservation - Samantha Morton. I think they should have cast an unknown. But, that aside, sublime. And Sam Riley was extraordinary.
 
I thought it was style over substance.

To the casual observer it was probably a good story, but having followed Joy Division and New Order for nearly 30 years now all I could see were a lot of mistakes and inaccuracies. Sure, it wasn't meant to be a documentary, but the timeline was all over the place and significant events either seemed to happen at the wrong place or involved the wrong characters.

The portrayal of Tony Wilson as a lame hooray henry was just wrong. Rob Gretton was a little too 'football hooligan' to be credible as well.

Having said that, the last 5 minutes were genuinely moving.
 
Exactly, and it shouldn't be judged as if it were. There is some artistic licence, certainly, and much will have had to be cut for the sake of a manageable running time. It'll be interesting to see what else turns up on the DVD.

There is a documentary directed by Grant Gee, which was shown at the Toronto Film Festival with Control. That's probably what many JD fans will prefer. As a fan, I thought Control was great, and Sam Riley played a blinder, while Samantha Morton made my heart bleed for Deborah in a way that Deborah's book failed to do.
 
I'm going to see it this week sometime.

Is the guy who plays Rob Gretton as good as Paddy Considine was in "24 Hour Party People" ?

That was an awesome performance, it was as though Gretton had come back to life.
 
I'm really looking forward to that documentary. Hopefully, the DVD release of that will include Malcolm Whithead's full video recording of the Plan K gig - which will finally provide some decent footage after having to put up with 'Here Are The Young Men' for all these years.
 
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