Control (2007)

In retrospect, I wouldn't have chased a musical biography with a biography of a musician. Still, that's about where the similarity ends.

The story focuses on Ian Curtis (Sam Riley) starting in 1975, shortly before he marries Debbie (Samantha Morton) and becomes the lead singer of Joy Division, the British post-punk rock band. I'm afraid the timeline isn't very long, because he dies at age 23. And no, the cause is not drugs or a plane crash.

Bleak? You bet. I'm not sure Ian ever smiles on screen. He's prone to epileptic seizures, and the meds make him feel worse. He doesn't even enjoy being a music star, despite having been unsatisfied with less fame. No wonder the film is in grainy black and white.

My pity for Ian is greatly diminished by him being hard to like. Dourness aside, he cheats on Debbie with music reporter Annik (Alexandra Maria Lara) and then lies about calling it off with Annik. He barely appears in his young daughter's life when he can. Yet he really doesn't want a divorce. He's laconic enough to seem rude much of the time, and often his longer talk isn't much politer. And he doesn't seem to believe that the show must go on.

Part of my problem is that Riley, who hadn't been on the big screen before, doesn't demonstrate much emotional range. Or vocal range, for that matter. Much as I appreciate the actors actually performing the songs, I think he sounds subpar, not just for a professional but for a regular person. I get that a lot of JD songs aren't meant to be beautiful, so maybe he was actually doing it right, but he sure didn't make me more of a fan.

Admittedly, I couldn't have named anything JD did besides "Love Will Tear Us Apart" before. (The title comes from "She's Lost Control.") From what I gather, their biggest strength was in lyrics. Alas, half the time, between loud instruments and Ian's accent, I couldn't make out the words. Maybe you have to love JD already.

I think Morton, the only actor I'd heard of, shows easily the most acting chops. My personal favorite element of the movie, however, is manager Rob Gretton (Toby Kebbell). This sounds strange given his rampant coarseness and profanity, but he's so poised and eloquent in his rough way. Something in his delivery made me want to believe everything he said.

I don't plan to watch anything more from director Anton Corbijn. He may be big on the music scene, but his cinematics leave something to be desired.