JOY DIVISION (2008)

Another Lovefilm delivery and one that I was really looking forward to having recently moved it to 'High' priority. I'm a Joy Division fan, regular have them playing on the Ipod and Love Will Tear Us Apart really is up there with some of my favourite songs of all time. I had also recently read Peter Hook's book chronicling the history of the Hacienda and vibrant music scene in Manchester over the last 30 years of the last century, 'How Not to Run a Club' so I was already really in the mood for this film. 'Mad for it' perhaps.



For those of you aren't aware of the story, Manchester spawned a number of hugely influential bands during the late 70's and into the 80's. It was a movement. It spawned a name. 'Madchester'. Many of these bands are still cited by today's chart toppers as influences who can only dream of having the same sort of impact. At the centre of this was Joy Division, fronted by the epileptic Ian Curtis. They became the band of the moment with a sound that was cutting edge. They had the world in their hands. Then it ended abruptly with Curtis' suicide. But the story of the band continued as the remaining members formed New Order and helped set up the Hacienda night club in Manchester that helped give birth to Acid House and the 'Rave' scene in this country. An incredible tale that forms a huge part of the history of a generation that we are still effected by today.

This combined with my love of the band's music meant that surely this film couldn't let me down.

Well it did.

In documentary format, this was the factual account released shortly after Anton Corbijn's excellent Control that launched Sam Riley into the big league. If you've seen any music documentary then you know what to expect. The story of the band is told chronologically, with interviews with the band members (black screens behind them) inter spliced with archive footage of the band performing and famous images from that era in time. All of this happening with the iconic music playing over the top.  Tab A, into Tab B.

It all starts well enough, painting the picture of an industrial Manchester resembling a building site, a voice over from Tony Wilson explaining that music made Manchester 'shiny and new again'. But then it goes straight into the Joy Division story. The viewer never really gets a feel of just how important the music scene in Manchester became. To have got this message across and then put Joy Division at the centre of it would have given the band a much greater context.

And then it all becomes dull. It seems to presume that the viewer is already a fan and relies on the anecdotes of the band members to push the film along. It's also very monotone. It produced the same emotions in me when the band were successful as when Curtis began to spiral out of control. Where is the passion?

It is not without its plus points though. There is a charm to the film and much of this is down to the personalities of the band members and Tony Wilson. One of my favourite parts of the film is a short montage of amusing stories told by the band. The smiles on their faces as they recollect the boyish larks from decades before during the bands early years is genuinely touching.

There are some truly heartfelt moments from the interviews as well. Most of these surround the death of Curtis. There is a moment when Peter Hook confesses his guilt for not having seen Curtis' body after his death, opting instead to go to the pub and 'get pissed'. A reminder of just how young these men were when the band was at it's peak.

There is also an incredibly creepy sound recording of Bernard Sumner hypnotising Curtis in a bid to rid him of his demons. Chilling stuff  and genuinely interesting.

So to Sumnerise (come on, that is a decent pun), this film disappoints. It fails to really deliver the excitement that surrounded the band in a time that was exciting (according to the books I've read - I wasn't there of course). It laborisouly ambles through the story and is only saved because of how interesting the real characters are.

If this film is on telly, you might as well watch it, but if you really want a fix of this era, see Control or 24 Party People.