Guest Review: Control

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/7c2_B_cWK_M" width="300" height="225" wmode="transparent" align="right" /]“Heaven knows it’s got to be this time…” is where I start this review for one of the greatest films of 2007.

Anton Corbijn’s Control, the biographical cinematic journey of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, takes story telling and filming making to a new level. From scene to scene, Control is framed in such a way that individual shots are piece of art. Corbijn’s background as a professional photographer and use of symmetry, as well as, an eye for detail set a new standard for black and white films.

With the assistance of ccreenwriter Matt Greenhalgh, cinematographer Martin Ruhe, and production designer Chris Roope, Deborah Curtis’ memoir “Touching from a Distance” is held to the up most respect in creating the world of Control.

For Joy Division fans this film has been a long time coming. It brings the poetic journey of Curtis to a visual medium. Control does not glamorize the life the enigmatic singer but it does bring a sense of who he was and the people closest to him. Within that we see the tender side and the troubles with his personal and romantic life, which ultimately lead him to his death at the age of 23.

Overall the film satisfies the desire to have one last taste of Joy Division. So, if you have “A Means to an End” and are looking for something to take you on the emotional journey I suggest you see Control. It is the story of one man’s journey to find piece within.

Denver readers can catch the film playing now at Starz Film Center. For more information, visit denverfilm.org.

Michael K. Pomphrey
Screenwriter
AFI Fellow

Michael Pomphrey is a screenwriter and currently attends AFI.

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Working for the Colorado Film Commission has its benefits. Aside from helping bring films to Colorado and cultivating the local film scene, you also get to meet cool people who really love cinema.

When I first started at the CFC, I met a guy named Michael Pomphrey who was one such cinema enthusiast. Michael has since moved on to greener pastures at the AFI in Los Angeles, but he wrote to Trashwire via MySpace to submit this quick review.

If you are interested in submitting your work to Trashwire, please click here to go to our submissions page or send an email to [email protected].

Enjoy Michael’s review of ‘Control’.

-Alexis