Excellent film... as a JD fan, I thought it was done in a way that even non-JD fans could enjoy it. All of the actors playing the JD band members actually played their instruments and performed those songs... it wasn't just Reilly overdubbing vocals over original JD recordings! That is something that really impresses me about the skills of the actors chosen for the band. True, Curtis was a genius, but he was also human... I felt this film was grounded in reality without trying to evangelize/make a martyr out of Curtis.… Expand

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.… Expand

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.

Beautifully shot, great acting. Impressive. (Review by someone who doesnt (didnt) know Joy Division.) Best movie of the year so far.

Brilliant. I loved it through and through.

Without even being a complete Joy Division fan, the band's music has been very significant to me over the years and I really couldn't get over seeing it turned into an illustration of Ian Curtis's wife version of a story that no one but Curtis himself will ever understand... Not to mention the choice of re-recording Joy Division's best songs with Sam Riley impersonating (!?) the deceased lead singer. Like other music biopics, it gets really difficult to tell whether the movie's good or not when the music gets lost on the way...This movie simply reminded me how great Last Days by Gus Van Sant was, expressing a clear personal emotional and artistic celebration of an artist's life. Control was a really frustrating experience.… Expand

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.

Stylish, great, clearly work from an impressive photographer and director as well.

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.

Like the band, hate the film. No chemistry between characters, no character developement, extremely contrived (Incase you missed it, he was a genius, did you get that? a genius) and incase you didn't understand the fact that he died, even though its obvious because every one is running about crying, we are told at the end in large writing - Ian Curtis died...... and about time to, but only in a celluloid sense. A fanboy film of the highest order.… Expand

Beautiful film - I'm not even bothered about Joy Division. Excellently realised.

An honest movie about a truly significant band. A times the scenes are a little schematic. I think that's largely due to the scenario, which is an attempt to squeeze as much emotion into the story as possible. Apart from the excellent music scenes, there's just not a lot of time for emotional development, so it remains a little sketchy.

An outstanding biopic. I've been a Joy Division fan for 21 years and read everything there is on them, but this film made me appreciate them in new ways. That's quite an achievement. There are some very real, and raw, moments here; so don't go if you're looking for a shallow good time and nothing more.

I hated this piece of pretentious rubbish.

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!!!!!

What a beautiful movie Anton Corbijn made. You can see he is a master in black and white (cinema)photography. Beautiful images and a good storyline. Great acting, especially the character of Ian Curtis: Marvellously played! Gives a very good image of these days in the depri/new wave/ avantgarde/ post punk music scene of Britain.

Beautifully shot film, real pleasure to watch, but totally lacks depth and tragedy of Curtis' personality. I think the fact that he killed himself after he listened to Iggy's ''Idiot'' tells us lot more about him and way he saw things than all this silly love triangle. Basically this film is melodrama, and it's not what IC was about. Anyway, once again - astonishing picture when it comes to visual terms.… Expand

Control, above all else, truly captures the total apathy towards life necessary in any person's mind to take their own life. It's a journey into something beyond despair, and like one of the above journalists said "you don't watch this movie, you live it". As a Joy Division fan, I was a little frustrated that they only really concentrated on the band's earlier stage, but as a film, it actually works to the director's end this way. The cinematography really struck me from the beginning of the film, each shot was just really perfect, as the film goes on the shots make less and less sense, which adds to the "mood", or more correctly, the utter lack of. Sam Riley should get an Oscar nomination for this performance, beyond brilliant through the whole film. Samantha Morton also plays her part terrifically. I Corbijn would have highlighted the "fun" times of the band (if there were any), something that showed them really excited about what they were doing. The movie really puts Joy Division as SUCH as side note to Curtis' story that it actually took away from the realism to me, at least a little bit. The timing of some of the songs at certain key scenes, seemed to come in too soon also. It gave me a feeling of the story being rushed by, where there could have beens more space to allow events to sink in with the audience more. Aside from these minor qualms, the key point about "Control" to me, was it's sterility. I left the theatre feeling utterly distraught, without any of the emotion that Curtis spent his short career expressing so beautifully. This, to me, is the movies greatest flaw and strength, depending on how you react to it, or just choose to view it. In reflection, I admire the boldness of the film, and not turning it into just another musician biopic. Probably worth seeing, but whether you are stunned by the films' artistry and power or just drained of all life by the end, is just a matter of chance. I find myself somewhere in between.… Expand

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.

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.

This movie was excellent. I love the fact that they over recorded the songs with the band that they had in the movie, this makes the movie alot more interesting by watching and listening to how perfectly they learned joy divisions music to play for this movie.

Not really a Joy Division fan but enjoyed this. Beautifully shot, moving & some excellent acting by Sam Riley, Samantha Morton & the ever brilliant Toby Kebbell.
Nice to see Macclesfield getting a bit of recognition.