Standing in the way of Control: Sam Riley as Ian Curtis.
Control, Anton Corbijn's movie about Joy Division, is the buzziest film of the festival so far, at least among the British contingent. At Harvey Weinstein's rooftoop drinks party yesterday afternoon, critics - including our own dear Peter Bradshaw and James Christopher of the Times, both caught in the act of ordering delicious watermelon martinis - were united in their enthusiasm. Variety has called it "sombre, sad and compelling". This correspondent was transfixed, not least by the extraordinary cheekbones of Sam Riley, playing Ian Curtis. Corbijn yesterday said that he'd wanted to find a lead actor with something of the quality of the young boy in Ken Loach's masterpiece, Kes. There's no doubt: Riley's got it. The film reaches the UK in September, don't miss it.
Weinstein also talked about the various travails of Grindhouse, the Tarantino/Rodriguez double bill that flopped in the US. A slightly longer version of Deathproof, Tarantino's half, is being shown at Cannes on Monday. "It's a better movie," drawled Weinstein. "It's got a lapdance in it, one of the sexiest numbers in film. If I think people enjoy Deathproof here I don't see any reason not to release it." On the fate of Grindhouse, he said: "OK, we fell on our butts. It was a public spanking... you can't expect people to sit there for a three-and-a-half hours. The experience is tough. When it opened, 85% of people who didn't go said it was because they didn't have three and a half hours to spend. People aren't used to double bills. Of course when I grew up you'd go to the movies, watch the first film, the second film, and the first film again. But people have internet-y things to do today. People work multiple jobs."
