Control

"Control"

Anton Corbijn, 2007

This film is a portrait of the short life of Ian Curtis, the singer of the British band, Joy Division. Films in this genre generally follow the traditional rise-and-fall trajectory of a talented, yet deeply flawed musician. "Control," which is directed by Anton Corbijn, takes a slightly different perspective. Ian is not one of those musicians who gets corrupted by fame and wealth; he is, and remains until the end, a quiet guy who enjoys reading literature and writing lyrics. Rather, his major weakness, as depicted by the actor Sam Riley, is his sheer youthfulness and his lack of maturity in an environment that requires complete attentiveness. Unfortunately, he suffers from epilepsy, which requires him to take medication that affect his emotions and focus. (On a parenthetical note, a sequence in which Curtis is prescribed several kinds of medication at once, after suffering from his very first seizure, is completely inaccurate; he would only be given one kind of medication at first.)

Corbijn's black-and-white cinematography is beautifully-implemented, which is no surprise given his music video roots, but the relationships are poorly handled. We have no idea how the band members interact with one another, and we never learn why music appeals so much to Curtis - he spontaneously seems to join the band and they spontaneously seem to land record deals. "Control," instead of centering on the role of music in this musician's life, focuses most intently on Curtis's troubled relationship with his wife, Debbie (Samantha Morton). The couple married at a very young age, and Curtis, almost immediately, is ready to move on to other women. On one of his tours, he runs into a pretty Belgian journalist, Annik (Alexandra Maria Lara), and they begin to have an affair, which Debbie eventually discovers.

One aspect that I like about "Control" is its accurate suggestion that musicians' songs are greatly influenced by their private lives; the relatively few songs we see Curtis play are subordinate to the narrative involving this relationship triangle. How Curtis's issues affect his music, however, could have been made even more apparent had the film's relationship aspect been far more interesting. It is not very nuanced, nor is it all that original in its execution; and the characters' exchanges, though heated and well-acted, are, surprisingly, poorly written.

Here is the end of an inexcusably silly exchange between Annik and Curtis, that speaks for itself:
"I'm a little scared."
"Scared of what?"
"Scared of falling in love with you."

"Control" attempts to be a different kind of rise-and-fall film, one in which the musician's private life is the primary focus, rather than his music. It's an interesting idea, but whether this approach works in practice is an entirely different matter.

Rating: 5

First Viewed: 7/17/08, on DVD
IMDB Page