Wednesday, October 31, 2007

CONTROL




Biography

BACKGROUND
Ian Kevin Curtis (b. July 1956 in Manchester, England) from a young age exhibited talent as a poet. Although he was awarded a scholarship to attend The King’s School in Macclesfield he never pursued academic endeavours. He got a job as a civil servant at the Labour Exchange but his real interest was the pursuit of art and literature, eventually culminating in music.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Sam Riley: Ian Curtis, lyricist and vocalist of the punk band Joy Division
Samantha Morton: his wife Deborah (Debbie)
Craig Parkinson: Tony Wilson, Manchester television personality
Toby Kebbell: Rob Gretton, the band’s manager
Alexandra Maria Lara: Annik Honoré, an employee with the Belgian Embassy

REVIEW
It is so unusual to see a movie in black and white but it is absolutely the best choice: it feels like it was made years ago, it best depicts the dreary inner city of Manchester, it perfectly suits the languorous pace of the movie.

Complementing that is another great choice, that of the actors. Particularly outstanding is Sam Riley. Although I’ve never seen the performance of Ian Curtis, the way he is portrayed looks and feels so authentic I have to believe it really was how he acted both on and off stage. In addition, Morton and Lara both put in excellent performances.

One caveat though: it is long, just over two hours, so it requires a fair amount of patience. But it is well worth the effort.

CLASSIFICATION
for language and brief sexuality.

P.S.
The title comes from one of the band’s best known songs, She Lost Control.

According to the press releases the movie constiutes the first for several people:
 Anton Corbijn: an acclaimed still photographer, this is his directorial debut
 Sam Riley: his first role in a film
 Deborah Curtis: her first book, Touching From a Distance, being the principal source of material

No comments: