Mr. Music Video himself, Anton Corbijn directs this biopic of Ian Curtis, lead singer of the seminal post-punk band Joy Division.Sam Riley stars as Curtis, Samantha Morton plays his wife Deborah, and Alexandra Maria Lara plays his mistress Annik. All of them give terrific performances, but Sam Riley is exceptional. A relative unknown, this guy is magnetic on screen, especially during the performance scenes.
Corbijn works wonderfully with cinematographer Martin Ruhe to create striking black and white compositions in every frame. In fact, every shot looks to be a photo taken by Corbijn. The story tracks Curtis from his early school years, his young marriage to Deborah, his battle with epilepsy, forming the band, his infidelity and his eventual suicide.
What sets this film apart from the usual rockstar biopic, is it's lack of judgment. The film gives no reason for his great unhappiness, no deification of the rock n' roll lifestyle, no uplifiting themes, and definitely no happy ending. It's just the story.
Just for Sam Riley's performance alone, this is one of the best.
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