Control
Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: October 10, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Even though we're aware of the tragic trajectory of the singer's life, for a while it almost seems as if reality got it wrong and Curtis might just squeak past the reaper's scythe with no more than a shave and a haircut. Read full review
100
PremiereGlenn Kenny
It's also that he's really, honest-to-God, got one of those movie faces that doesn't even come along once every generation. It's astonishing. Read full review
91
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Even if you have no interest in Joy Division, this picture is worth seeing for the unsentimental empathy and passion of the moviemaking. Read full review
90
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
You don’t have to know anything about Joy Division to grasp the mysterious sorrow at its heart. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
One of the most perceptive of rock music biopics. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Control doesn't claim to know the reasons Curtis killed himself. The act of suicide poses the question why, but rarely answers it, leaving the living to wonder, and to grieve. And there's certainly grief to be had in Control, but also joy. Really. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It's Corbijn, shooting with a poet's eye in a harshly stunning black-and-white, who cuts to the soul of Ian's life and music. You don't watch this movie, you live it. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Can a movie about such a fellow and such a fate be lovely? And can it uplift? Control is and, in its artfulness, does. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Control goes past the clichés of punk rock-god gloom to offer a snapshot of alienation that's shockingly humane. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Corbijn makes us achingly aware of the singer's talent, the haunting poetry of his songs and how, living in the gloomy culture he did, his passing was virtually inevitable. Read full review
80
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Lovely and deeply touching picture. Read full review
80
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
Those who worship Joy Division may bridle at Corbijn’s film for its reluctance to mythologize their hero. Speaking as someone so irretrievably square that I not only never listened to the band but didn’t even know anyone who liked it, I can’t imagine a tribute more fitting than this. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyTim Grierson
Control honors its subject’s eternal self-doubt by honing in on that truth and leaving the legend to others. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGene Seymour
Control keeps you riveted in ways that "24 Hour Party People" doesn't, primarily because of the investment of craft and conviction by all concerned. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
The cast is excellent, particularly Riley and Morton and, as Joy Division’s brash manager, Toby Kebbell. He’s a great character, bitter and hostile and a scoundrel: a born manager of talent destined to tear itself apart. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The result is a good movie that falls short of greatness by aping too well the behaviour of its subject – occasionally brilliant, sometimes mundane. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The result is both a surprisingly lucid portrayal of clinical depression and dramatically a bit stiff. Read full review
75
New York PostKyle Smith
A rock bio minus the fun. The sex is guilt-stricken, the drugs are used to treat epilepsy, and the rock 'n' roll is about isolation and despair. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
A romantic victim to the end, this Ian Curtis is all that worshipful fans could ever hope for. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
In essence, Control is a standard order biopic of a tormented artist. What makes the film interesting, if not unique, is the style in which director Anton Corbijn has elected to present it. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Morton's as good an actress as any working today and in Control, she overcomes an age gap to give one of the year's most heartbreaking and honest performances. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Sam Riley is fascinating as Curtis, a hypersensitive young man hobbled by his incurable disease, and Samantha Morton is poignant as his put-upon wife. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
Control is director Anton Corbijin's first feature, and he too frequently makes the mistake of falling back on his rock video skills. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
The story of Control's creation is the story of great potential, squandered. Joy Division fans should be able to relate. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
To my detached eye, this slender biography suggests that Curtis went from a faintly interested glam-rock wannabe of 16 to a mildly talented performer to a quietly glum fellow of 23 whose frustrations drove him to suicide. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
There's little illumination. Read full review
50
Village VoiceLD Beghtol
Despite excellent performances from Samantha Morton, Craig Parkinson, and the radiant Toby Kebbell, along with a noble effort from pretty newcomer Sam Riley as Curtis himself, Control is like a wake where the guests forgot to bring the booze and, for the most part, have nothing very nice or even particularly interesting to say about the deceased. Read full review
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