The best biopic ever created is one that many may not have even seen (certainly outside of the UK). Hemmed by music video director Anton Corbijn, starring little-known Sam Riley and based on the life of Joy Division's tragic singer Ian Curtis, it is an astonishingly accomplished and gorgeous piece of film-making. It also happens to tell the story of one of music's most enigmatic figures. Shot wholly in black and white, Control has the feel of an arthouse film rather than a biopic. Every shot is meticulously rendered, like something from the mind of Francois Truffaut, giving the film the air of something transcendent. Performance sequences, including a carefully recreated performance of Joy Division's infamous televised rendition of Transmission, outdo practically any others in the history of the genre. Riley himself is immaculate. Not only does he mirror the looks of Curtis, he also has the singer's movements and tics down to a microscopically perfect reflection. The black and white visuals, plus Riley's acting, lend the film a documentary aura. It is as if the viewer is actually seeing Ian Curtis' life (and death) onscreen. This is the aim of all biopics, of course, but rarely is it achieved so seamlessly as with Control. Aesthetically stunning, completely authentic to the source material, faultlessly acted and totally believable: Control is what every musical biopic aims, but so often fails, to be.
