Review: Control Film Forum - [playing through Tues Oct 23rd]

Joy Division was the beginning of post punk. They were everything the Sex pistols and their fashion conscious knock-offs weren't. They rejected these punk trappings and payed attention to the music only by default wearing work shirts and ties. It's impossible to imagine what Unknown Pleasures must have sounded like in the late seventies, there was nothing like it.

The director of the new Joy Division movie Control, Anton Corbijn, moved to England because of Joy Division in 1979. He quickly befriended the band and photographed them on the set of the 'Love will tear us apart' video. He would later go on to shoot iconic photos of the band used on everything from bootleg singles to t-shirts. This is the best possible person with real life experience of these events of this now mythical band to capture accurately. There are posters of Ian's music heroes hanging in his bedroom and later at clubs, hinting at subtle influences and contemporaries, but the majority of the environments are stark. I'm sure this was in part reflecting the bleakness of England with it's 1984-esque government housing, but it also allowed you to not be distracted by anything and watch Sam Riley and Samantha Morton fall apart as Ian and Deborah Curtis.

The problem with so many music biopics is they tend to want to clue the audience in to the bands genius. June Carter must have been so angry she told Johnny Cash to go burn in a ring of fire or something equally as ridiculous. It's never that easy, and it just insults the audience. I don't think there is ever that direct of a connection, it always feels forced for the sake of a story arc. To wrap up their life nicely, they got off the drugs and turned things around triumphantly. Ian Curtis ended his Behind the Music right at the beginning of the climb to stardom. Control doesn't follow those music movie stereotypes. They don't go for the contrived 'aha' moments and it doesn't try to nicely tie everything up and over explain the reasons for his suicide, or play Dead Souls while he walks along the beach in the rain at night. I don't think their genius can be summed up in an hour and a half, the combination of their original sound and Ian Curtis' lyrics, it's nothing that could have been predicted, their sound continuing to remain relevant.

The really incredible part is the authenticity of the live performances. Anton was very specific with actor Sam in reenacting Ian's trademark flailing dance moves, having been present at numerous shows from that time period. It feels more real than actual footage of those shows. The actors tested themselves playing as the band in front of hundreds of Joy Division super fan extras for numerous scenes. They learned the songs and played them to the approval of their real counterparts who were heavily involved with the film, as well as Ian's wife and girlfriend. The actors playing live captured why these songs were groundbreaking and are still exciting...down to Ian's dead on vocals. It's during these performances that are meant for the theater. Sitting with an audience in the dark and watching Joy Division, it's as close as I'll get to seeing them live. I had to refrain from head bobbing a few times.

The key to some of the movies success may lie in all of the people involved. His wife, girlfriend, all of the band, Joy Division producer Tony Wilson, all added their side to the interpretation of events, you get all of those details from all sides, what was happening while on tour and back at home. But it's not distorted by a singular vision, from the director or Ian's widow who wrote the book the film was based on; Touching from a distance. I don't think that can be said for most films which inevitably suffer from everyone's input on a project. Here they serve to create an impression of Ian and events, the facts are corroborated and the rest is left up to the audience, who all have a personal relationship to the music, it was the best choice not to spell it out for fans who have been creating their own myth the last 20 years.

I have very little bad to say, it's perfect for the Joy Division fan, that may be it's only drawback, I don't know how much the typical movie goer will take away from it unfamiliar with the genius that is Joy Division. But then again their music isn't for everyone either and I'm ok with that.