By Noah Redfield
In addition to “Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten,” there is another film in theaters about a rocker who left too soon. “Control” is the new biopic about Ian Curtis, lead singer of the hugely influential new wave band Joy Division, which would later become New Order after Curtis committed suicide in 1980 days before the band was to tour America. The film is based on “Touching From a Distance,” the biography by his widow, Deborah Curtis, and is the feature film debut of Anton Corbjin, the photographer who first made a name for himself with his pictures of the band.
We first see Ian (Sam Riley) at 17 years old, an amateur poet and idolater of rock icons like David Bowie and Lou Reed. He marries girlfriend Deborah (Samantha Morton) two years later and although he maintains his love for her throughout the film, he quickly realizes the marriage was a mistake. As the success of Joy Division reaches its peak, he meets Annik (Alexandra Maria Lara), a Belgian journalist who becomes his lover-a situation that helps tear both his marriage and his world apart.
Added to this is Ian’s severe epilepsy and his inability to handle his new status as a post-punk icon. The film doesn’t pin his suicide on one particular element: everything was too much for Curtis.
Newcomer Sam Riley plays Curtis perfectly, not only mimicking his unusual singing voice and bizarre dance moves but also capturing his constant sense of fear and isolation. Morton’s portrayal of Deborah, a woman constantly tested and tortured by her husband’s self-destructive behavior, turns out one of her strongest performances to date. Also noteworthy is the stark and beautiful cinematography-done in the same style as Corbjin’s pictures of the band-which is the one thing in “Control” that has to be nominated for an Oscar this February.
Aside from the performances and the look of “Control,” it is not a readily recommended film. This is the second attempt about Joy Division, after “24 Hour Party People,” Michael Winterbottom’s electrifying depiction of the Manchester music scene from 1976 to 1992 that is more legend than docudrama. Curtis’ story is a subplot in that film, told from the point of view of music impresario Tony Wilson.
In many ways, “Control” is a direct refutation of that film. The actors look exactly like their real-life counterparts, the story is exactly as it happened and tells it as straightforwardly as he can. The result is that “Control” is nothing more than a kitchen sink drama, a genre that British cinema has been beating to death for the last 50 years. This kind of film rejects cinematic techniques in favor of total naturalism, but the power of art comes from its ability to transport one to another world, allowing the viewer to experience things he could never experience otherwise. “Control” sticks to reality and therefore, is only half as compelling as it could be.
It’s not a terrible film but it’s also not one worth spending $10 on either. It will speak the most to hardcore Joy Division fans and aspiring cinematographers. Anyone looking for a more rewarding piece of cinema should save their money and rent “24 Hour Party People” instead. In one scene of that film, a character references “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” by quoting its most famous line: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” Corbjin should’ve taken that to heart.

Sam Riley plays troubled frontman Ian Curtis of new wave band Joy Division in “Control.” (AllMoviePhoto.com)