Control tells the story of the famous singer Ian Curtis from the band Joy Division and how his personal life collided with his career causing a great internal struggle that caused him to sadly commit suicide at the young age of 23. The film is black and white throughout but I think this adds to the atmosphere and emphasises how the troubled singer saw the world in black or white with no in-between which was part of the problem in his life. The lack of colour and joy causing what was portrayed as a deep depression with inner turmoil. The film begins showing Ian at a young age with his cool exterior which appears to slip when he falls in love with a girl called Debbie whom he then marries and has a child with. This appears to be a major regret in his life as we later see him progress from a performing in a band called Warsaw that eventually became Joy Division that hit a big success after undergoing new management and getting signed. Although Debbie and Ian's lives appear to be following the steps of a regular relationship it is in fact going downhill as he is no longer in a happy marriage which is highlighted even further when he falls for a Belgium woman named Annik whom he met after one of his gigs. With an affair taking place he begins to spend less time at home and tries to avoid the responsibilities he created and has. Throughout the film parts of his life a highlighted which in turn creates quite poignant moments such as when Debbie finds out about Annik and begs him to stay with her anyway, when Ian has an epliectic fit on stage when performing and in the end his bid to stop all the confusion by committing suicide. The end providing a heartbreaking moment when we see a young man who has so much potential give up, and you can't help but feel that with more understanding and support it may not have came to that end result.
His struggles appeared to stem mostly from his conflicting feelings about Debbie and Annik, the amount of himself he put into each of his performances and that he had no medication that was fully effective for his condition. The film itself is an artistic piece and is not meant to be a documentary, it looks at some facts and dramatises them to create a moving image telling the story of a life that every person watching can sympathise with. The soundtrack of the film is mostly provided by Joy Division's songs, they fit in exactly in the right places to provide a level of drama and integrity to the life of Ian Curtis. With the lyrics reflecting the bleakness and truth of what they felt like 'Love will tear us apart'. Although the film focuses on certain points of Curtis's life such as the sadness and avoids showing the happy moments he had with the band this helps to build up the film to emphasise the lack of control he had in his life and the inevitable result of this.
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