Control Review

For some the band Joy Division is but a distant memory, an early incarnation of the much more popular New Order. But to fans of this northern four-piece, the band have an almost mythical status thanks to the memory of late front-man Ian Curtis who, riddled with depression and suffering from epilepsy, committed suicide in May 1980, just days before the band were due to start on their potentially groundbreaking first US tour.

"Control", director Anton Corbijn's bleak biopic of Curtis certainly doesn't make for easy viewing - it charts Ian's life from his early days in Macclesfield, where he experimented with prescription drugs stolen from old women, through to his dark final days as his desperation enveloped him. Newcomer Sam Riley is eerily good in the lead, embodying Curtis's talent and artistic bent but also diving head first into the darker side of the character and allowing the demons to come to the fore. He also performs the Joy Division songs live along with his co-stars - no mean feat considering so little footage actually exists for reference. Meanwhile Samantha Morton is equally involving as Ian's beloved but long-suffering wife Deborah and the scenes the pair share will break your heart as they career headlong towards the inevitable end.

Corbijn is obviously a fan of the band - he used to photograph them back in the late '70s - and his devotion shows as he refuses to condemn Curtis for his long-affair with Belgian journalist Annik Horore or his ultimate submission to his problems. Instead this is much more a love story to a man for whom life became too overwhelming to continue and leaves you wondering just how much more he could had given had his desperation not won.