by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
B+ Rated R 121 min.
The tortured rock star cliché gets another spin with this bleak yet intriguing film written and directed by Anton Corbijn from Deborah Curtis’ memoir Touching from a Distance. Corbijn’s use of stark black and white visually drives home the real life struggles of Ian Curtis, lead singer for the 70s new wave band Joy Division.
Curtis, who died by his own hand in 1980, was a brooding, self-absorbed and depressed 20-year old who started a band to sing his introspective poetic lyrics to the frantic rhythms and clever music of the group Joy Division. It was a sensation in Britain and around the globe that still gains fans today. The group had planned a tour of the States, but Curtis died before that trip came to fruition in 1980, effectively breaking up the band.
Sam Riley portrays Curtis with deep insight into his angst-addled personality and the shocking onset of his chronic epilepsy. In the early 70s, treatments for epilepsy were trial and error, that is, the patient would take a variety of drugs to see which ones worked. For Curtis, this meant that the powerful medications only exacerbated his depression and serious conflicts between his loyalty to the band and his wife Deborah (Samantha Morton) and child.
Curtis’ brief life is the age-old story of a young man who got married too early, then his music career took off and he had to tour, leaving his wife and kid behind. Of course, on the road, Curtis meets a beautiful young French groupie, Annik Honore, played by stunning Alexandra Maria Lara. He falls in love with her, but later discovers he still has feelings for his wife. His guilt and conflicts were tearing him apart. Then he had his first grand mal seizure, which led to the diagnosis of epilepsy.
Despite his disabling mental problems, Curtis had a remarkable talent for writing songs with lyrics that the band’s fans could identify with. If he could have lived with the epilepsy, he would have led the band to glory. On one occasion, he had a seizure on stage, but it fit in with the group’s outrageous antics and became the grand finale of their act.
Curtis’ mental anguish and depression were trapping his mind in a black hole. Riley’s savvy characterization of Curtis expresses his downward spiral with skillful acting elan. His pained expression revealed an inner-war with his demons for control of his consciousness. He couldn’t even enjoy the success of the band, though he kept writing exceptionally poignant material that influenced a generation of punk, new wave and alt-rock bands through the 80s.
Curtis’ personality was fragmented into many parts but lacked a cohesive whole. His mood swings were radical. He would go from sweet to cruel to forgiving to completely selfish and aloof. Samantha Morton’s stand-out performance as Deborah mirrors Curtis’ dysfunction. She really tried to understand his lifestyle and was surprisingly tolerant of his affair with Annik. Like a ghost, Curtis would come into and out of her life, which wreaked havoc on their marriage. After one of Curtis’ freaky appearances in Deborah’s home, she’d finally had enough and asked him for a divorce.
The onslaught of Curtis’ epilepsy gradually got worse. If he took the medication, he was zonked out. If he didn’t take his meds, his seizures would leave him exhausted, crippling his mind for days. For the disenfranchised youth of the 70s, Joy Division’s songs expressed their dissatisfaction with moving up into adult life. Control is a riveting trip into Curtis’ deluded life. His feeling of helplessness and the fear of his own condition led to his suicide. Yet, he left a legacy of material that has helped many young people through their angst by helping them see how suicide is never the answer. He had alternatives but didn’t see them. Ironically, his songwriting talent was his saving grace, but he was blinded by the darkness within himself.
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