Opening

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—— A Green Story
—— Alyce Kills May 24

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Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
88% The East May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31

Control (2007)

tomatometer

87

Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 108
Fresh: 94 | Rotten: 14

Control is a work of art, thanks to its evocative black and white cinematography and sensational performances from Sam Riley and Samantha Morton. Even those not familiar with Joy Division can still appreciate the beauty of the film.

87

Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 30
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 4

Control is a work of art, thanks to its evocative black and white cinematography and sensational performances from Sam Riley and Samantha Morton. Even those not familiar with Joy Division can still appreciate the beauty of the film.

audience

88

liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 47,182

My Rating

Movie Info

Prolific music-video helmer and award-winning photographer Anton Corbijn makes his feature directorial debut with this biographical drama concerning the late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis. Based on the book Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis & Joy Division by the enigmatic singer's wife Deborah Curtis, Control documents the life of a legend who changed the face of modern music but never lived to witness the remarkable impact of his life's work. The time was the late 1970s, and the post-punk

R,

Musical & Performing Arts, Drama

Matt Greenhalgh

Jun 3, 2008

$0.8M

The Weinstein Company - Official Site External Icon

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All Critics (111) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (100) | Rotten (15) | DVD (12)

[An] absorbing and ultimately harrowing look at Ian Curtis' short, unhappy life.

December 7, 2007 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic
Arizona Republic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

December 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment (1)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film nails both the malaise and creative vigor of Curtis' short, bruised and chillingly relatable life.

November 3, 2007 Full Review Source: Denver Post
Denver Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Though Curtis is hopelessly dysfunctional, photographer-turned-filmmaker Anton 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.

November 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A film that perfectly captures the essence of the legendary and influential cult band Joy Division and its tragic lead singer, Ian Curtis.

October 29, 2007
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Control" has an unmistakable pulse: a wiry, electric tension between the extraordinary spectacle of Curtis at maximum surge and the dented ordinariness of which his undear life, like ours, was mostly composed.

October 27, 2007 Full Review Source: New Yorker
New Yorker
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film overcomes the central miscasting of Samantha Morton.

October 5, 2010 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central
Film Freak Central

The way Ian Curtis blocked his onstage movement mirrored isolationism in his home life. He clasped the microphone stand like a drowning man would a life preserver, but he couldn't stay afloat in dreary waters of his own creation. A seamless rock biopic.

September 25, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com
Suite101.com

Film %u0107e stoga biti shvatljiv samo onim gledateljima koji detalje povijesti "Joy Divisiona" i Curtisovog %u017Eivota imaju u malom prstu, a to su, dakako, najokorjeliji fanovi.

July 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Index.hr | Comments (2)

Control does justice to Curtis' legacy but fails to make any further grasps for significance.

July 31, 2008 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine
Paste Magazine

The black-and-white photography captures the working-class milieu and the late-'70s Manchester music scene with an easy intimacy...

June 16, 2008 Full Review Source: MSN.com
MSN.com

Control contains the truth mirrored in fictional flashes, the focus more on Curtis as a person than as a rock and roll symbol.

June 1, 2008 Full Review Source: PopMatters
PopMatters

Um filme repleto de planos magnificamente compostos e que se tornam ainda mais impactantes graças à impecável fotografia em preto-e-branco de Martin Ruhe.

May 26, 2008 Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena
Cinema em Cena

Positioning art as a necessary surrender to a creative force which removes the self dangerously from existence and society, Control intimately connects in tragic yet euphoric ways to the mixed blessing of the radically unleashed musical imagination.

March 30, 2008 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze
NewsBlaze

Positioning art as a necessary surrender to a creative force which removes the self dangerously from existence and society, Control intimately connects in tragic yet euphoric ways to the mixed blessing of the radically unleashed musical imagination.

March 30, 2008 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze
NewsBlaze

Some of Riley's musical performances are electrifying. This would not be a bad movie at all, except for the infuriatingly romantic portrayal of suicide.

March 6, 2008 Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope
Laramie Movie Scope

Audience Reviews for Control

Joy Division are a perfect example of a band who's music I adore without particularly liking as people. I have limited respect or sympathy for Ian Curtis, a fantastic musician but I've always had more sympathy for the Friends and family left behind after suicide. Obviously I don't include people with mental health issues in that equation. There is an unhealthy obsession with the celebrities that die young in our society, it's not a new thing but it's still quite distasteful. At no point though does Anton Corbijn sugar-coat the facts, Ian Curtis is seen for who he was in a fair and balanced manner. Anton Corbijn is a fantastic photographer and I'm delighted that he's now making feature films. It is visually beautiful but I never doubted it wouldn't be, Sam Riley and Toby Kebbell do fine jobs but I've got a soft spot for Samantha Morton, I think she is consistently brilliant. I was particularly impressed with the detail here though, the contact in blood, Stroszek being the last film he watched, Corbijn's take is as real as it could ever be and I really respect him for that. A great film, whether you were a fan of Joy Division or not.
April 18, 2011
SirPant

Super Reviewer

Good movie. I never knew too much about the lead singer of this band, only that it he had a sad life. This movie really did well painting a life full of struggles, and difficulties. It is a shame that he died so young.
October 15, 2010
itsjustme2004

Super Reviewer

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Latest News on Control

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December 14, 2007:
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The London Critics Circle has announced the nominees for its year-end awards, with Anton Corbijn's...

Foreign Titles

  • Control: La vida de Ian Curtis (ES)
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