Lost Control
I saw the movie Control tonight, about the band Joy Division. It was made by Anton Corbijn, a great rock photographer who worked for NME in the late 70s and 80s.It's beautifully shot, as you would expect, but also beautifully cast and acted. It's got so much going for it, but in my mind it fails because it probably should never have been made.
I adore Joy Division and there are wonderful moments in the film, and I feel it is extraordinarily accurate, but these moments are mostly based around the music. We see how some of the songs were inspired, or at least we think we do.
The film is based on an account by Curtis' wife, Deborah, and it seems fair. But I couldn't help wondering over and over why I didn't just go home and put on the records. They speak for themselves.
I'm not sure what we learn from these biopics. Even when done at their very best, they fall prey to a kind of sentimentality. The mere fact that they are made makes them sentimental, nostalgic. And sentimentality is the death of art.
Perhaps one of the most powerful moments is when Deborah finds Curtis dead in her house. At that moment, very briefly, the film really is about her. At the end of that moment, Atmosphere kicks in, and all I could think was it wasn't loud enough. When were they going to turn the volume up?
Just listen to the music.
posted by Rob O'Neill at 10:38 PM
3 Comments:
Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People includes what I think is an unsentimental section on Curtis, and is in general the best music movie ever made.
Avoid the extras section on the DVD, which includes footage of New Order commenting on the director's commentary.
Not sure I'd rate it the best, but it's damn good.
C'mon, fbm thingy, best music movie has to be Spinal Tap.
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