Shows That Not All Rockers Who Die Young Are Druggies

Rating: 9/10 (15 July 2013)

Ian Curtis breaks away from the clichés of young rockers who died before their time. Instead of sex, drugs, alcohol and being totally messed up. Instead this individual has succumbed to a lifelong struggle with epilepsy, a disjointed marriage and the struggles that go with being a rock performer. "Control" sets the record straight that go beyond the typical rocker biopic, but still we never truly see who the real Ian Curtis was and somehow we may really never know.
Sam Riley stars as Ian Curtis, the frontman of the 1970's punk band Joy Division. I'm not giving away anything by saying that he committed suicide and made himself into an icon in the music world. The central stories behind Curtis in his battles with a troubled marriage, his battles with epilepsy, and his lust for a Dutch girl named Annik. Riley must have done his homework with his role as he is a standout in every way possible from his voice to his eccentric quirks. He does sing his songs and I take my hat off for that. Curtis was no Paul McCartney, but his voice did stand out above the rest and Riley succeeds in that area.
From the movie we get a good overview as to just how melancholy Joy Division's music was really like. Other bands were not always that spontaneous but the nuances behind Curtis' cynical lyrics behind his singing makes the setting of dreary Manchester, England all the more apropos. Sure there might be a few exaggerations coming on here and there at times, but does not over do it like "Walk the Line." Instead it gives the viewer the chance to piece together the metaphoric puzzle. When he's at the unemployment office and young lady is having a seizure, this was the inspiration to their hit song "She's Lost Control." It's all in the matter of dissecting through the subliminal messages in the lyrics to get a better understanding of the modus operandi of Joy Division and what they write about. Sure the camera crew make it obvious as they show you around Curtis' troubled mind as they show us a series of sentimental books written by the likes of JG Ballard and William S. Burroughs or how enthusiastically wants to see "Apocalypse Now". So these tiny details demonstrate just what kind of character Curtis was like.
The thing that irks me about musical biopics is that they hardly look into the creativity of a musician, singer or a group. In "Control" we are treated to the drum tracking behind "She's Lost Control". And we can understand the strange hissing sound coming from a spray can. I wished that there would have been more screen time for the character who played Martin Hannett, Joy Division's demanding producer (we all thought Phil Spector was demanding). But in all respect, Hannett gets credit for creating the unusual sound that made Joy Division a league of their own. Sadly he was on for five minutes. Where did the group decide to use the bass guitar as the leading instrument and have the lead guitar demoted to background instrument (much like The Who where John Entwhistle's bass was more the leading instrument than the guitar). It could have been because Peter Hook was more available in studio than Bernard Sumner? Who knows?
Overall, "Control" is one of the more underrated musical biopics. Riley turns in one of his best performances as the troubled rocker and what influenced him in his shortened life. But Ian Curtis is still one of life's mysteries and we may never know much about him unless we actually sit down and talk to the surviving members of Joy Division, Bernard Summer, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris. You can listen to his music till your blue in the face, and still never able to unravel what's gone through the creator's head.