The Notorious Bettie Page

If this film strikes you (as it did us and, apparently, others departing the theater) as disappointingly thin, it may be because the subject herself is mildly disappointing. The film faithfully presents us Bettie Page as she probably was: a playful almost-innocent from the rural South whose career as "the pinup queen of the universe" was for her just goofy, natural fun. Her eventual moral qualms, religious conversion and sudden departure from nude and bondage modeling are biographically accurate, yet hard to understand given how untroubled she seemed by her livelihood.

There are many reasons to see this film even so, not least of which are the amazing b&w noir cinematography of W. Mott Hopfel III (complete with old fashioned wipes and dissolves), the 1950's-faithful acting of the cast under the direction of Mary Harron, pitch-perfect performances by some of our most underrated supporting actors (including Chris Bauer, Lili Taylor, Sarah Paulson, Austin Pendleton, Dallas Roberts and Victor Slezak), not to mention the Oscar-worthy and technically difficult lead performance of Gretchen Mol.

Ms. Mol does several scenes fully naked and most others in amazing period lingerie and "specialty" costumes (gloriously assembled by costume designer John A. Dunn), yet she astonishingly maintains Bettie Page's unstudied pleasure in her lush body. To watch Ms. Mol as Ms. Page, an aspiring actress, progressing through degrees of progressively less "bad" auditions and student acting scenes is to see a truly fine actress in complete control of her craft.

The script does effectively bring us into 1950's America, where childhood sexual abuse, lawless abduction and rape, and the legal suppression of brands of pornography which today seem laughably tame, is a reality. 50's New York is evoked with seamlessly-inter cut news reel footage. 50's Miami comes alive in super-saturated, 16mm-style color. The real Bettie Page seems to scamper, smile and pose before us, and yet the effect is curiously lightweight, barely lewd and not at all dangerous.

How odd that bondage's greatest icon should be so lacking in venom, and that this technically excellent biopic should have so little sting.

I was at the small gathering at Hef's house for this movie. In fact, I had dinner with Bettie just before the movie. We were both Southerners and enjoyed each others' company in a well connected conversation about alternative medicine and spirituality. After dinner, we went into Hef's screening room. I always sit directly in front of Hef's sofa, nearest to the screen. Bettie was several rows back in a chair. All was fine until the rape scene. Betty screamed,"No! No!" from the back of the room and ran out, through the lobby, outside and into an SUV. I followed her. She let me into the SUV with her and I proceeded to calm her down. She was crying,"No one was supposed to know that!" Apparently, only Bettie and one other person (a relative) knew about the gang rape. She was very upset and felt betrayed that her lifelong secret had been exposed and she had to witness it in a room full of strangers. Hef never did come out to see what was going on. Richard Bann, a long timer at Hef's did come out. My friend Elliot Silverstein (director of Cat Ballou and A Man Called Horse) came out. I waved them away. I sat and talked to Bettie for quite a while until her driver appeared and took her away. For ANYONE to say this movie pleased Bettie and she liked it is not true! And whoever wrote that was NOT in the room when this film premiered at Hef's. I was there. I sat in the car with this marvelous woman, then in her 80s and held her hand as she cried. That is the God's honest truth. My heart went out to her. She truly felt that Hollywood had beaten her down yet again.

Bettie Page is a young brunette bombshell from Nashville, Tennessee. Life in her home state was far from pleasant, so the infectiously optimistic Page moved to New York City with hopes of making it as an actress. While at Coney Island one day, an amateur photographer spies Page's good looks and natural style, and asks if he can take a few photographs of her. This starts a new chapter in Page's life, as she becomes a sought-after model and pin-up star. Will Page be able to sustain her celebrity, or will she burn out, or- perhaps worse- fade away?

Directed by Mary Harron, 'The Notorious Bettie Page' is a touching comic-drama retelling the life of a fascinating real-world icon. Written by Harron and Guinevere Turner, the narrative is surprisingly wholesome and light-hearted- considering Page's profession- though also wildly enjoyable. While one who wanted to know the psychological reasons behind Page's willingness to appear topless despite her religious inclinations might be left a little cold by proceedings, the film still entertains greatly.

Page is portrayed as a sweet beacon of light and hope, who is instantly likable. Charming, slightly naïve but by no means unintelligent, the audience roots for her throughout her journey within the pin-up world. This is not to say that Harron and Turner's characterization is especially rich, however, as- on paper- both Page and her supporting characters are all a little one-dimensional. Further, their handling of themes- such as the gulf between conservatism and liberalism, the rise and fall of fame and the power and influence of media- feel undeveloped and a tad hackneyed.

However, Page- as presented in the film- is someone you couldn't help for fall for, while Harron and Turner's dialogue is generally strong- not to mention comedically sharp. Their wry approach to comedy works wonders: they craft an understated, funny story as well as a compelling one. While slightly lacking in psychological or thematic depth and characterisation, their narrative impresses all the same.

Moreover, Mott Hupfel's cinematography is evocative and atmospheric. He switches between black and white and colour, depending on the tone and context of the scene, in a way that creates a striking visual contrast between Page's vibrant personality and the repressive society around her, as well as between her private and public life. Furthermore, he utilises a variety of techniques and shots- including close-ups, wides, static and tracking shots- to create tension. In addition, his use of lighting creates atmosphere, compounding the drama and suspense of scenes; most notably when Page testifies before the Senate.

Additionally, Gideon Ponte's production design faithfully creates a 1950's visual aesthetic, bolstering the realism of the venture. From the inclusion of vintage cars to elaborate items of clothing created by John Dunn, everything on screen looks period accurate. Alexandra Mazur's set decoration really is impressive, while Thomas Ambrose's art direction uses a retro colour palette, with muted tones, evoking a warm feeling of nostalgia.

Gretchen Mol stars as Bettie Page, delivering a confident performance of wit and energy. She makes Page exceedingly amiable; someone anybody would like to spend time with. Yet she also imbues the character with a thoughtful depth missing from Harron and Turner's screenplay; making her fascinating and multifaceted. Alongside her, Chris Bauer and Lili Palmer do typically fine work as a brother and sister team of magazine peddlers who take Page under their wing, while Sarah Paulson and Jared Harris impress as photographers Bunny Yeager and John Willie, respectively.

In conclusion, Mary Harron's 'The Notorious Bettie Page' celebrates the life and legacy of a woman who defied conventions and expectations, though isn't as insightful as perhaps it could have been. Despite lacking in thematic and psychological depth, though, the film is a delight, featuring strong dialogue, stunning visuals and a spirited central performance from Gretchen Mol. Uproarious, glorious- this film proves Bettie was more than just notorious.

I saw this movie at the 2006 Palm Springs International Film Festival and it is a movie and not a film since it apparently was shot by HBO to be shown on their cable network sometime this year. This movie presents Page as a bondage and discipline fetish pinup and B&D stag film actress who had enough talent to become a real actress. Page was a little more than that and the film touches on some of her other roles in modeling but not enough to balance out the career of the 50's pinup icon. This film is supposedly based on the book "The Real Bettie Page" by Richard Foster. It's shot in black and white for that 1950's nostalgia feel. I have the book called "Bettie Page The Life of a Pinup Legend" that has a lot of great photos chronicling the career of Page and I must say that this movie reproduces on film, with Gretchen Mol as Page, many of those famous photo's very accurately. Mol herself with the Bettie Page black wig and brown contact lenses is Bettie Page. Not only does she have the Bettie Page look but she has the smile and characteristics of her personality that came through the camera down perfect. And her body is as close to a replica of Page's as possible. Terrific casting. The story is kind of thin and tabloidesque and certainly could have been a lot better. But this is a pretty good TV movie. I would rate it a 7.0 of a scale of 10 and recommend it's viewing when it comes on TV.

I had a vague idea of who Bettie Page was, partly due to her appearance in the very wee days of Playboy (apparently, when she got her photo taken of her and her Santa hat, just that, she didn't know what the mag was). The movie, co-written and directed by American Psycho's Mary Harron, fleshes out the key parts of her life well enough. A southern belle of a church goer has some bad experiences and leaves them behind to seek better times in New York City, where she gets into modeling, and from there a lot more. Soon, she becomes the underground pin-up sensation, with bondage the obvious (and "notorious" of the title) trait attributed to her. The actress Gretchen Moll portrays her, and gets down the spirit of this woman about as well as she could, which is really a lot of the success of the film. She's not a simplistic character, even if at times her ideas of morality are questionable ("well, Adam and Eve were naked, weren't they?" she comments a couple of times). Apparently, the filmmakers leave out the later years of Page's life and leave off with her in a kind of redemptive period, leaving behind the photo shoots for Jesus.

In all, the Notrious Bettie Page is not much more than a kind of usual bio-pic presented by HBO films, albeit this time with the stamina for a feature-film release. The best scenes that Harron captures are Page in her "questionable" positions, getting photos of her in over-the-top poses and starring in ridiculous films of whips and chains and leather uniforms. This adds a much needed comic relief to the film's otherwise usual nature. It's not that the story behind it is uninteresting, which involves the government's investigation into the 'smut' that came out of such photos and underground magazines. But there isn't much time given to explore more of what is merely hinted at, with Page and her complexities or her relationships or to sex and the fifties. It's all given a really neat black and white look and sometimes it seemed as if Harron was progressing some of the black and white photos to be tinted more as it went along. It's a watchable view if you're not too knowledgeable of Bette Page, and probably for fans too.