Rating: 7/10

Being a huge Joy Division fan, I was quite torn when I heard a movie was being made about their tragic story. Or rather, the tragic story of their frontman Ian Curtis. After all, the remaining members went on to fame and fortune as New Order — one of few bands to overcome the loss of a frontman.

Upon hearing that “Control” featured my favorite German “Schauspielerin” Alexandra Maria Lara, and was being filmed by famous photographer Anton Corbijn, my initial icy impressions started to thaw a bit.

The result is a moving, exquisitely filmed story light on mythology and a bit too heavy on realism. “Control” was flimed entirely in black and white, which helps accentuate one of its main characters, the gloomy, industrial city of Manchester, England.

Fortunately, Sam Reilly plays extremely well as Ian Curtis. No complaints here. His wife’s character, equally well played by Samantha Morton, avoids superficial pitfalls which might have been expected. My main complaint is that the build up to Mr Curtis’ tragic end seems to be a bit too simple.

Another problem is the character of Ian’s mistress. Alexandra Maria Lara portrays her merely as someone nice to look at. She barely manages to whisper out her lines, perhaps due to shyness on her part of acting in a foreign language. Aside from obvious beauty, we don’t really see what drew Ian Curtis to her.

All in all, however, “Control” is very solid, with surprisingly good live scenes and haunting cinematography. Recommended.

Filed under: 2007 by A.B.