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1 article from 2008

17 June 2008 9:03 PM, PDT | From avclub.com | See recent The AV Club news

Anton Corbijn's biopic Control offers a spare, frequently beautiful portrait of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis, capturing the boundless excitement of the late-'70s UK punk era as contrasted with Curtis' mundane melancholy. The problem with Control—and it's a significant problem—is that Corbijn tries too hard to mythologize Curtis' last days, by dwelling on his broken marriage, struggles with epilepsy, and dreary Manchester existence, in scenes that drag on endlessly and miserably. For a broader, livelier, less Curtis-centered version of the story, the band's fans should see Grant Gee's documentary Joy Division. Structured as an oral history, Joy Division lets a succession of band members, scenesters, and cultural commentators share their firsthand accounts of how Joy Division came together in the wake of a fateful Sex Pistols gig in Manchester, and how they quickly developed from generic anti-authoritarian punk slop into something darker, artier, and more distinctive.

Noel Murray

1 article from 2008