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Control (2007) Weinstein
Company, 2 hrs. 1 min.
Starring:
Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara, Toby Kebbell, Joe
Anderson, James Anthony Pearson, Craig Parkinson, Harry Treadaway, Andrew
Sheridan, Richard Bremner, Nicola Harrison
Directed by:
Anton Corbijn |
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Photographer-turned-director Anton
Corbijn’s exquisite black-and-white bio-pop music narrative Control is a
thought-provoking and intimate look at a tragic footnote in entertainment.
The sordid story is a familiar one but nevertheless still startling
concerning the trials and tribulations of a young falling star not being
able to cope with his sudden fame and fortune. The centerpiece of
Corbijn’s cinematic study of loss and alienation is Ian Curtis, the late
singer of the British punk band Joy Division. The questionable suicide of
Curtis makes for an intriguing and involving examination of how particular
talents aspire to be recognized courtesy of their chosen craft only to be
disillusioned by the result of their achievement. Control is a moody yet
strangely melodic concoction about creativity and confusion in an
overwhelming abyss of artistic isolation.
The irony and contradiction behind the film’s title is very appropriate
and clever since the inner conflict of Corbijn’s beleaguered protagonist
wallows in the self-destruction of wild excesses ranging from pop cultural
adulation to the financial freedom of recklessness. Corbijn’s revealing
exposition should hit close to home given his insider connection to Curtis
and his bandmates as he was instrumental in capturing the musicians
through photos and revolving memories. Clearly, Control must be seen as a
cinematic inquiry for fans needing to flex their fascination and
frustrations about a departed musical icon that foolishly surrendered his
life to complexities foreign to him as well as his avid followers.
Corbijn dares to explore the morbid mysteries and lingering uncertainties
of a complicated individual. Beautifully shot in the shadows of a crisp
black-and-white lens that accentuates the doom and despair of Curtis’s
erratic existence, Control delves into an emotional cave trying to bring
light to a head-scratching and harrowing incident that claimed the last
breath of a blossoming artist and his revolutionary music. Everything is
chronicled from Curtis’s gradual Macclesfield-bound slow burn to the
chaotic cultivation of his public presence with Joy Division.
Newcomer Sam Riley is riveting as the late vocalist Curtis whose tortured
soul is an embodiment of a plagued person searching for tranquility that
never materialized in his lyrical art. We’re exposed to Curtis in bits and
pieces of his methodical livelihood from a disabling childhood condition
(epilepsy) to his growing appreciation for poetry and music. We witness
Curtis’s ill-advised option for marriage at a young age to wife Debbie
(Samantha Morton)—a woman he has “stolen” from his best friend. The union
is soon compromised when Curtis falls for Belgian groupie/journalist
wannabe Annik (Alexandra Maria Lara). There’s an exciting rush when the
youthful Ian decides to try out for the local pub band’s plea for a
singer. Soon Bernard, Peter and Stephen (James Anthony Pearson, Joe
Anderson and Harry Treadaway) would welcome Ian in what would become the
ensemble of Joy Division. Little by little, the brooding Ian Curtis falls
deeper and deeper into a funk so inescapable that we’re tipped off about
the downward spiral that’s hovering right around the corner.
The film skillfully employs a slew of aforementioned photos and music
videos that enhance the atmospheric reminiscences of Joy Division’s pained
mouthpiece. Fittingly, the soundtrack is drenched with Joy Division’s
distinctive sounds. More important Riley is forcefully effective as the
deceased Curtis as he dynamically channels the onstage/offstage mannerisms
of a man on the brink of a soulless breakdown. Eerily, Riley’s performance
is spot-on as he invades the persona of the late singer with probing
pathos.
The supporting players are very absorbing as well. Both Morton (“In
America”) and Lara are stimulating as the ladies in Curtis’s topsy-turvy
life. As the manager for Joy Division, Toby Kebbell is riotous as Rob
Gretton—an animated wonder that made sure his clients were household names
about town. The group’s ardent fan Tony Wilson (Craig Parkinson) is also
an infectious character as he sings the praises for his revered musical
mentors. As Curtis’s showbiz cohorts, Anderson, Pearson and Treadaway are
captivating in their significant roles.
The turmoil behind Control is something that’s touching and profoundly
shocking at the same time. Poetic and hauntingly surrealistic, Corbijn’s
caustic commentary about a musical maverick and the misguided demons that
overtook his sensibilities should serve as a liberating and learning
experience for those that are blessed by a gifted calling but cursed by
its unpredictable dark side. |
