Dir: Anton Corbijn

Actrs: Mostly fairly unknowns (Sam Riley = awesome!!), with Samantha Morton as Deborah Curtis.

A biopic of Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division, the remaining members of which became New Order after Curtis’ suicide. Based on the biography written by his wife, Deborah. Reading up on details in various places, sounds pretty true to events, with some scenes/dialogue obviously imagined due to lack of other people in the room.

Corbijn is protesting in interviews being known only as a “rock photographer” although I’d say the skills of a rock photographer add greatly to the filming of this story. Regardless, it’s beautifully filmed in black and white, does a good job of showing the extreme bleakness of the surrounds, where they grew up, Curtis’ mental and emotional bleakness. Pondering whether either a) the side effects of his epilepsy medication made him not take the medication thus leading to more (and more?) epileptic fits on stage or whether b) he was indeed regularly taking it leading to more and more depression, paranoia, etc. The scene where the drugs are prescribed and the extreme lack of medical knowledge at the time around epilepsy was pretty scary. (Is it better now? One has to hope so.)

If not for Curtis’ suicide, you feel like you could be watching a movie about the early Stones or the Beatles. The music business was such a different animal, even in the late 70s when JD was getting their start. You see the evolution not only of the band, but of their manager and record company.

Some of it is just maddening, particularly the events that appear to lead directly to his suicide. Basically couldn’t handle being married and a father at his young age (they got married at 17 or 18, had a kid around 22, suicide at 23), was involved in at least one extramarital affair, (although I think the movie may have trimmed out other affairs for time), but prospect of wife divorcing him over him a) being unfaithful and b) stating to her that he doesn’t love her anymore! makes him completely despondent. Yet, he’s having an affair, so… Classic case of digging one’s own hole, yet his mental state left him completely unable to handle it or face up to his own actions. Interesting to see events in his life tied to songs writtenly shortly thereafter (“She Lost Control” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart” particularly).

Great acting here. Actors playing the band play the music themselves. If you liked Ray for Jamie Foxx’s incredibly Ray-like interpretation, or Walk the Line for a similarly incredible performance by Joaquin Phoenix, you should see this. Although Sam Riley’s voice is much higher than Curtis’, the band does a more than credible job of interpreting the songs and it all feels very, very real. Thought Riley did an incredible acting job, as well as Samantha Morton playing his wife and Alexandria Maria Lara playing his other love Annick (she’s breathtakingly gorgeous).

In my own “rock history”, given that he committed suicide in 1980 when I was whatever, fucking young as shit, I knew the music of New Order much better, became a huge fan thanks to my friend Pete freshman year of college who was the first person to play New Order for me, as well as The Replacements, and so many more bands that certainly owe some musical debts to Joy Division. Even today, bands like The National, would their lead have considered a rock career without having heard similarly low-voiced Ian Curtis, one has to wonder. Curtis was a big Bowie fan early on, there are lots of other bands up and coming alongside them (the Buzzcocks, hilarious bit in the film about the name; The Sex Pistols), and watching the movie just made me need to go home and sit down in front of the stereo…

New Order site lists showings around the country. Go! Highly recommended. Might want to bring kleenex.