Control
A stark portrait of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis as musical success, epilepsy, and divided loyalties pull his private life apart.
Overview
A haunting exploration of love, loss, and the pressures of fame in the music world.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- bleak
- tender
- music film night
- arthouse viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an evocative, beautifully shot, and superbly performed musical biopic that works equally as a portrait of Ian Curtis and a story of a life under pressure.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film follows Ian Curtis from employment-agency worker and aspiring singer through Joy Division’s rise, emphasizing his marriage, affair, illness, and performances.
The evocative black-and-white cinematography gives Curtis’s domestic life, rehearsals, and performances a stark, melancholic texture.
Joy Division’s increasing popularity intensifies Curtis’s touring demands, emotional strain, infidelity, and inability to remain present at home.
Warsaw’s transformation into Joy Division and the band’s recording-contract and performance pressures place the story within Britain’s post-punk scene.
Films like Control, and why
Sid and Nancy
music biopic focused on a troubled punk-era musician, romantic instability, and self-destructive fame
24 Hour Party People
British rock history, post-punk culture, music-industry pressures, and intersecting personal relationships
The Runaways
intimate musician biography balancing performance, ambition, personal conflict, and emotional collapse
Movie Details
- Director
- Anton Corbijn
- Release Date
- 2007-09-12
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (973)
Cast
- Sam Riley
- Samantha Morton
- Alexandra Maria Lara
- Joe Anderson
- Toby Kebbell
- Craig Parkinson
- James Anthony Pearson
- Harry Treadaway
- Robert Shelly
- Andrew Sheridan
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Control about?
- A stark portrait of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis as musical success, epilepsy, and divided loyalties pull his private life apart.
- What is Control like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Control as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Control violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Control.
- What did critics think of Control?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an evocative, beautifully shot, and superbly performed musical biopic that works equally as a portrait of Ian Curtis and a story of a life under pressure.
- Which films are like Control?
- Films with a similar feel include Sid and Nancy, 24 Hour Party People, and The Runaways.
- How long is Control?
- Control runs 122 minutes.
- Where can I watch Control?
- In United States, Control streams on Criterion Channel.
