Closer to Curtis

by LES EVERETT

WHILE they are very different films Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten and Control, the story of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, are very valuable to music lovers. Bands tend to come to us fully formed unless they're from our hometowns. The steady transformation that created The Clash and the early struggles of Joy Division are reminders that the songs that grabbed on the radio or in the record store didn't just spring from a moment of genius.

Control is not a documentary. It's a dramatised story based on the life of Curtis and is so successful that you would need to know nothing of the man or the band to enjoy the film.

Curtis is played by Sam Riley who has the perfect build for a young man of the late seventies with not a hint of muscle definition. The brilliant Samantha Morton plays Curtis's wife Deborah who wrote the book that inspired the screenplay.

Surviving the rock and roll lifestyle requires great resilience and plenty of luck. Curtis was an epileptic and probably suffered from depression and late nights, binge drinking, dabbling with drugs and constant smoking wouldn't have helped him to be in peak condition mentally or physically.

Control is shot in black and white by first-time feature director Anton Crobijn. The lack of colour suits Joy Division's music and their hometown of Manchester but there's true beauty in many scenes.

12 December 2007

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