Classic

Rating: 7/10 (26 March 2010)

What I most enjoyed about this beautifully shot film were the ways it elevated the somewhat typical life of a rock star into a more classical realm. The choice of black and white lent the film an almost archetypal quality--showing a trajectory we have witnessed time and again throughout the history of music, yet pushing the viewer to watch in the way Antonioni's masterpieces do. Although Corbijn charts a somewhat well-hewn path, his background as a rock photographer shines through, rendering clear, sleek B&W that compels long gazing. While the film is wonderfully acted, I'm not sure the actors should have performed the musical material. Watch the actual Joy Division videos, included in the bonus section, and the difference, energetically, is salient (as are the strikingly different spirits of Sam Riley and Ian Curtis). Curtis had much more of a wispy softness; Riley appears more addled and robotic, as if he's trying to convince us that he's about to seize at any moment. He is not the soft, Bowie-loving poet. However, this aside, the film is well worth viewing for those who love rock and rock photography, even if they are not specifically Joy Division fans.