Control - Anton Corbijn (2007)

Director: Anton Corbijn

Rating: 9.5/10

Great men are always of a nature originally melancholy. - Aristotle

Control opens with a shot of Ian Curtis (Sam Riley) sitting in his room. The camera gently moves around him, silently observing as he says - “…I exist on the best terms I can.” The following shot shows him with his head bent down, as he sits on the floor. The concise shot, in black and white sets up the movie and it’s protagonist; a reflective film about a sorrowful genius.

This genius is evident to Curtis’ wife Debbie (Samantha Morton) when she first meets him. There are folders on his table labeled ‘Novels’, ‘Poems’ and ‘Lyrics.’ She asks him who wrote them, and he replies by asking her with a slight self-depreciating smirk - “who do you think?” Curtis’ point of view is not the priority of this film. As the story of his life unfolds, Corbijn’s camera merely looks on, without judging.

But the focus of the narrative is wound tight around Curtis. Curtis was the lead single of the post-punk band Joy Division. And Riley builds him into a distant dreamer who is afraid of the epilepsy that makes him lose control of his body, and the detachment that makes him lose control of everything that he holds near. As Curtis rises to fame, he falls further and further into his own loneliness. He seeks companionship in an affair with Annik Honore (Alexandra Maria Lara), as he feels no love for his wife. But it leads him to further isolation, he cannot love Annik or Debbie completely, and they cannot love him back completely either.

Control works on every level. As a musical biopic, it shows with authenticity the post-Punk era. As a character drama it’s a revealing journey with Curtis and his inner demon. And when the final scenes come onto the screen, shot with immense restraint by Corbijn, we see just how far Curtis had gone into that dark place within himself.

The cinematography is meticulous, in black and white. The sheer crispness of it all, with the distant shots using telephoto lenses, making the background blur out of focus, and the principal subjects remaining flattened on screen, along with very still meditative frames, all capture the angst a self-absorbed man living in anguish.

Control’s effect also comes largely from the music of the time. The soundtrack includes Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop, Supersister, David Bowie, The Killers and others, along with Joy Division.

On Anton Corbijn

Corbijn is best known for his work as a photographer with leading rock bands and actors. And it’s his skills as a photographer that really stand out here. Not only does he simply capture sheer beauty in his frames, but he manages to bring out the inner angst of the subjects he is shooting. For a first feature, Control shows immense maturity in terms of direction and intelligence.

It was hard for me not to be affected by this film. Control is a rare biopic - it did not glorify it’s subject and also, it did not flinch away from showing the naked frailty of one of rock music’s most gifted artists. Anton Corbijn’s first feature film is a unique balancing act of melancholy and joy, the melancholy of an introverted musician, and the joy he finds in his music till there is no more joy left to find.