I was always fascinated with the story of Joy Division, and specifically Ian Curtis – their singer who hung himself the night before they were set to go on their first US tour… just as the band was set to make a big splash. If you listen to Joy Division’s music, and then hear what happened, it’s not terribly shocking. Many of their best songs are just what you might imagine listening to as you sunk into bottomless despair. That emotion had to come from somewhere.
I can’t imagine this movie could have been done much better. It’s in black and white, which fits perfectly. It’s well directed, well written, and well acted. Ian is presented not as some kind of larger-than-life genius, but simply troubled and young; which I imagine was close to reality. Perhaps my only gripe with the movie, is that for all his troubles, he (the character in the movie) seemed rather happy-go-lucky, and somewhat together. The movie didn’t give me a sense that things were spinning out of control… then, they did. But, maybe that’s how these things go… and I can’t complain much about it.