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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Control
The Weinstein Company


7.3

based on 27 reviews
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based on 33 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for language and brief sexuality

Starring Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Craig Parkinson, and Joe Anderson

Ian Curtis has aspirations beyond the trappings of small-town life in 1970s England. Wanting to emulate his musical heroes, such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop, he joins a band, and his musical ambition begins to thrive. Soon, though, the everyday fears and emotions that fuel his music slowly begin to eat away at him. Married young, with a daughter, he is distracted from his family commitments by a new love and the growing expectations of his band, Joy Division. The strain manifests itself in his health. With epilepsy adding to his guilt and depression, desperation takes hold. Surrendering to the weight on his shoulders, Ian's tortured soul consumes him. (The Weinstein Company)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Deborah Curtis (autobiography "Touching from a Distance") Matt Greenhalgh
DIRECTED BY:	Anton Corbijn
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 3, 2008 Theatrical: October 10, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	121 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	UK / USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Premiere Glenn Kenny

It's also that he's really, honest-to-God, got one of those movie faces that doesn't even come along once every generation. It's astonishing.

100

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Even though we're aware of the tragic trajectory of the singer's life, for a while it almost seems as if reality got it wrong and Curtis might just squeak past the reaper's scythe with no more than a shave and a haircut.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Even if you have no interest in Joy Division, this picture is worth seeing for the unsentimental empathy and passion of the moviemaking.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

You don’t have to know anything about Joy Division to grasp the mysterious sorrow at its heart.

Rolling Stone 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.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Control doesn't claim to know the reasons Curtis killed himself. The act of suicide poses the question why, but rarely answers it, leaving the living to wonder, and to grieve. And there's certainly grief to be had in Control, but also joy. Really.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

One of the most perceptive of rock music biopics.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Can a movie about such a fellow and such a fate be lovely? And can it uplift? Control is and, in its artfulness, does.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Control goes past the clichés of punk rock-god gloom to offer a snapshot of alienation that's shockingly humane.

LA Weekly Tim Grierson

Control honors its subject’s eternal self-doubt by honing in on that truth and leaving the legend to others.

Los Angeles Times Gene Seymour

Control keeps you riveted in ways that "24 Hour Party People" doesn't, primarily because of the investment of craft and conviction by all concerned.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Lovely and deeply touching picture.

The New Yorker 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.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Corbijn makes us achingly aware of the singer's talent, the haunting poetry of his songs and how, living in the gloomy culture he did, his passing was virtually inevitable.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The result is both a surprisingly lucid portrayal of clinical depression and dramatically a bit stiff.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

The result is a good movie that falls short of greatness by aping too well the behaviour of its subject – occasionally brilliant, sometimes mundane.

TV Guide Ken Fox

A romantic victim to the end, this Ian Curtis is all that worshipful fans could ever hope for.

ReelViews 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.

New York Daily News 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.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

The cast is excellent, particularly Riley and Morton and, as Joy Division’s brash manager, Toby Kebbell. He’s a great character, bitter and hostile and a scoundrel: a born manager of talent destined to tear itself apart.

New York Post Kyle Smith

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.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

Sam Riley is fascinating as Curtis, a hypersensitive young man hobbled by his incurable disease, and Samantha Morton is poignant as his put-upon wife.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

The story of Control's creation is the story of great potential, squandered. Joy Division fans should be able to relate.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

Control is director Anton Corbijin's first feature, and he too frequently makes the mistake of falling back on his rock video skills.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

To my detached eye, this slender biography suggests that Curtis went from a faintly interested glam-rock wannabe of 16 to a mildly talented performer to a quietly glum fellow of 23 whose frustrations drove him to suicide.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

There's little illumination.

Village Voice LD Beghtol

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 average user rating for this movie is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 33 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Matt A gave it an8:
Beautifully shot. Superb Performances by all characters. A great biopic about a true music innovator and legend, who was not perfect by any means. The only problem with this movie is that the screenplay is a bit drawn out, and the pacing is a bit off. A great movie to watch, made better if you are familiar with the band's works.

Carlos s. gave it a9:
A solid film. Beautifully shot and acted, this movie does a good job of telling the stories of Ian, Joy Division and Debbie. It stays very much in theme with the bands music.

Chad S. gave it a7:
If there's a heaven, Ian Curtis and Bon Scott probably had a lot to talk about. These two disparate vocalists fronted successful bands that went on to greater popularity after their untimely deaths. In lieu of an AC/DC biopic, Ian Curtis(Sam Riley) is back in black and white, in the ironically titled "Control", based on the Deborah Curtis memoir about her joykill husband. Something doesn't add up. It's Ian's idea to get married. It's Ian's idea to have a baby. But in the delivery room, he freaks. He doesn't love his daughter. In the streets, he freaks. He doesn't love his wife. Why would a burgeoning rock star get married at twenty? Ian even tells his mistress, the journalist Annik Honore(Alexandra Maria Lara), how much he wants to leave Macclesfield. As a younger man, listening to "Jean Genie"(from "Alladin Sane"); we believe him, as Bowie sings about how "New York's a go-go and everything tastes nice," on his phonograph. It's no accident that Deborah(Samantha Morton) comes off as a saint in "Control". She's the executive producer. In most music biopics about morally compromised performers("Ray", "Walk the Line"), the film tries to portray them in the best possible light. This is where "Control" differs. The Joy Division frontman comes off as something of an ass. But the music remains undiminished, therefore Curtis(the Bob Dylan of the post-punk era) remains undiminished, in our eyes.

Jay H. gave it a6:
Stylish, well defined characters, very well acted. The black and white photography is very effective. I didn't always find the film interesting, but it's well done. I wasn't mesmerized by the main character, I have a feeling I was supposed to be.

Joel F. gave it a10:
I love Joy Division since I was 12, for the past 15 years I always wondered why he killed himself. Control gave another perspective of Ian, his lyrics and his decision to cash his ticket to the other side..... One of the best movies!!!!!

Eric G. gave it a10:
Riley gives a great performance as Ian Curtis, hitting the character perfectly (not just voice or attitude, but also those small little gestures. Cate Blanchett did this in portraying Dylan in "I'm Not There"). Corbijn makes a wonderful turn in his feature debut.

E F gave it a3:
Beautiful but boring. Using the same old romantic individualist conceit, there are no unexpected twists and/or turns to differentiate this from dozens of other biopics. See David C.'s comments above.

Control The Weinstein Company

Control
The Weinstein Company