Natalie Curtis' thoughts on Control

Ian Curtis' daughter's thoughts on the movie Control. This article is two years old, but it never occurred to me to see if such an article existed till now:

[www.guardian.co.uk]

A moving piece, thanks for sharing. The part about being protective of a father she never knew, who died younger than she is today, is especially poignant. As a moody high schooler in the late 80s, I was enraptured with Joy Division - in the farthest recesses of my closet I still have my black trenchcoat with the Unknown Pleasures LP cover dutifully sown on to the back. As I've grown older I still find the music to be cathartic (especially the now-obvious Stooges influence on the harder stuff) but I wince at the romanticism of Curtis' sickness/surrender. Suicide leaves behind a lot of horrible stuff for others to sort through and clean up.

Thanks Brad, fascinating. Don't know how the film could possibly have covered all the issues she brought up - it would go on for ages, for one thing, and illustrating depression is tricky in film, it's so interior. The film chose to show external pressures on Curtis - his epilepsy, the women - because it's something the audience can actually see/hear.

She didn't think Manchester looked bleak and depressing enough? Wow, the stark b&w photography sure didn't look like a beach party to me. How awful is this place?

Question of the Day: who's better - JD or New Order?



Post Edited (12-07-09 17:36)

Joy Division. New Order's music is brilliant, but so was Joy Division's, and Sumner's relative inadequacy as a lyricist kept them from ever achieving the emotional depth they were able to attain with Curtis handling the words and vocals.

Still, though, I do think New Order is the greatest second act in the history of rock music. I can't think of any other band that lost such a key component but bounced back and revolutionized music all over again in a completely different way.

I guess an argument could be made for Pink Floyd, depending on how one feels about their post-Barrett output, but that would be a fairly hard sell on this message board.

Joy Division - dark and brilliant
New Order - Sunny and Brilliant


If that helps.

Wow, never thought of New Order as "sunny," but that's a helpful perspective. I always thought their music sounded like there was a storm building just around the corner. But then, you can't get darker than Joy Division, except maybe The Birthday Party.

I don't like Joy Division very much. I've come back to them a few times with an open mind, trying to like the music; but outside of a few moments here and there, I just don't dig it.

For me, it's New Order any day of the week.

Man, I can take New Order only in very small doses (like one song every 6 months or so).

I can't say I listen to Joy Division on a regular basis, but there are times when nothing else will do.

I originally read this piece after watching the film. Probably because I was looking for some sort of "response" from the Curtis family.

While the movie was well-made, and the performances were all very good, I didn't buy the sort of inevitable portrayal of Curtis's suicide. It seemed like the severity of his depression wasn't adequately portrayed. But who am I to judge, right? Well, anyway, I was reassured by what Natalie Curtis wrote.

I'm a big fan of both Joy Division and New Order, but other than Movement, New Order is just a completely different animal. I can't say I prefer one over the other, although I like Joy Division and New Order better than Revenge, Electronic, The Other Two, Monaco and Bad Lieutenant...