Monday, October 22, 2007

Control

Out of control, she's lost control, the title of the biopic on Ian Curtis' life brings to mind many allusions to Curtis' songs and life and thus, is more than relevant. Based on the book Touching from a Distance, written by his widow Deborah Curtis, the film attempts to shed light to the enigmatic and inscrutable personality of Ian Curtis the frontman of Joy Division who took his life in May 1980 (ironically, some days before I was born). Control's director, Anton Corbijn (who knew Curtis back then and had taken pictures of him and the band; he is also the creator of the Atmosphere video) succeeds in imbuing the film with an atmospheric quality. In a way, it gives a feeling of touching Curtis from a distance, using black and white colours and highlighting the turmoil and isolation that epilepsy, depression and personal problems caused him. Performances are excellent and I have to add the casting needs credit too. As far as I know, the songs were performed by the actors themselves which makes the film even more original.
Personally, whenever I listen to Atmosphere I cry. This time there was a more concrete reason for doing so.

1 comment:

Mia Wallace said...

And I just read that New Order split up this summer or something like that :(

This is an interview at the guardian for CONTROL
http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,2159073,00.html