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United Kingdom, United States, Australia · 2007
Rated R · 2h 1m
Director Anton Corbijn
Starring Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara, Joe Anderson
Genre Drama
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This drama tells the story of Ian Curtis, the lead singer of the English rock band Joy Division, and his marriage to his wife Deborah. The film shows Ian's rise to musical success, his struggles with epilepsy and depression, his extramarital affair, and his death by suicide in 1980.
Despite excellent performances from Samantha Morton, Craig Parkinson, and the radiant Toby Kebbell, along with a noble effort from pretty newcomer Sam Riley as Curtis himself, Control is like a wake where the guests forgot to bring the booze and, for the most part, have nothing very nice or even particularly interesting to say about the deceased.
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
You don’t have to know anything about Joy Division to grasp the mysterious sorrow at its heart.
The New Yorker by Anthony Lane
Those who worship Joy Division may bridle at Corbijn’s film for its reluctance to mythologize their hero. Speaking as someone so irretrievably square that I not only never listened to the band but didn’t even know anyone who liked it, I can’t imagine a tribute more fitting than this.
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
Morton's as good an actress as any working today and in Control, she overcomes an age gap to give one of the year's most heartbreaking and honest performances.
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
In essence, Control is a standard order biopic of a tormented artist. What makes the film interesting, if not unique, is the style in which director Anton Corbijn has elected to present it.
A romantic victim to the end, this Ian Curtis is all that worshipful fans could ever hope for.
A rock bio minus the fun. The sex is guilt-stricken, the drugs are used to treat epilepsy, and the rock 'n' roll is about isolation and despair.
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
Control goes past the clichés of punk rock-god gloom to offer a snapshot of alienation that's shockingly humane.
Rolling Stone by Peter Travers
It's Corbijn, shooting with a poet's eye in a harshly stunning black-and-white, who cuts to the soul of Ian's life and music. You don't watch this movie, you live it.
Lovely and deeply touching picture.
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