A FILM about the life and death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis became one of the early critical favourites at the 60th Cannes Film Festival.

Control, which marks the debut feature from Dutch director Anton Corbijn and which stars unknown actor Sam Riley in the pivotal role, recevied a rapturous response from critics who hailed its honesty and tragedy.

The British film wasn’t playing in competition but it did open the Director’s Fortnight and immediately marked both Corbijn and Riley out as names to watch for the future.

The film follows Curtis’s rise with seminal group Joy Division until his suicide in 1980 at the age of 23. It also looks at his battle with epilepsy and the way in which he became torn between two women – his wife (played by Samantha Morton) and a Belgian girlfriend he met while on tour.

Critics immediately raved. The Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw stated: “Sam Riley gives a superb performance as Ian Curtis. Intuitively recreating his on-stage mannerisms, from the stock-still hunch over the mic, with eyelids lowered, to the crazy, elbows akimbo running on the spot routine, which like nothing else made him look like some sort of visionary outpatient.”

And the Telegraph‘s Sukhdev Sandhu added: “Sam Riley is extraordinary in the title role. In the performance scenes he almost channels the singer, the way his eyes seem to be sinking under the heaviness of gravity, capturing his jerking, possessed movements that resemble those of an anorexic power-walker.”

Some American critics were less impressed, though, and the Hollywood Reporter predicted that it would struggle to find a US market – not that this matters given the distinctly British nature of the story.

Certainly, hot new talent Riley was struck by the enthusiastic response Control has received. He modestly told a press conference that he was working in a Leeds warehouse folding shirts when initially cast as Curtis – but then threw himself into portraying the singer as honestly as possible.

His research involved studying the effects of epilepsy and surviving footage of Curtis’s live performances – and he spent a lot of time dancing in the mirror perfecting his dance moves.

“I tried to play him as a fairly normal bloke, with an exceptional talent,” he added. “He was an incredibly enigmatic performer – unusual and uncomfortable in a way. But a fantastic lyricist for his age… for any age.”

Director Corbijn was equally gushing in his appraisal of Riley crediting him with “giving everything” for the role. He added: “This is a very hard role for anybody to play, because it is very hard to fit in somebody’s shoes who has become an icon in many people’s eyes.”

Asked whether any surviving members of Joy Division had seen the film, or approved, he concluded: “They hardly ever agree on anything together, but they have agreed that they all love the film.”

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