The Notorious Bettie Page

Greetings again from the darkness. Mary Heron is amassing quite the list of films which provide a glimpse into their specific era. Her previous "I Shot Andy Warhol" and "American Psycho" were at their best when commenting on the quirkiness of society during that period. Although "The Notorious Bettie Page" is obviously about Ms. Page, it is every bit as much a peak behind the curtain at the world of kinky photo shoots in the 50's.

The film is fun to watch both from the perspective of the story and the technical aspect of the way it was filmed and put together. The grainy B&W film and photos capture the time and the introduction of color in Miami Beach through the photos of Bunny Yeager is very well done.

The supporting cast is strong with David Strathairn (fresh off his Edward R. Murrow role), Chris Bauer (as Irving Klaw) and Lili Taylor. The star of the film is the wonderfully talented and underrated and underworked Gretchen Mol. Ms. Mol always brings an edge and spirit to her roles. She was absolutely mesmerizing in the little seen, Jason Alexander directed "Just Looking" in 2000. Here she is the notorious Bettie Page. Her smile is captivating and her body is flawless. She really seems to enjoy this role and helps us understand how the girl next door from Tennessee could become the underworld Pin-up queen.

As one would expect, the soundtrack from the era is terrific. Patsy Cline and Peggy Lee are just two of the featured performers. Although the film hints at providing a history into this industry, the final third kinda falls flat preventing pure movie magic. But the magic of Gretchen Mol and Bettie Page make this a fun movie to watch and one that will yield endless showings on HBO in the near future. Now will someone please turn Ms. Mol into the star she should be?

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 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.

"The Notorious Bettie Page" is about a woman who always wanted to be an actress but instead became one of the most famous pin up girls in the history of America. Bettie Page played by Gretchen Mol was one of the first sex icons in America. The type of modeling Bettie Page took part in included nudity and bondage which lead to a U.S Senate investigation in the 1950s.

Walking out of the film, all I could think about was how far we have come in terms of pornography since the 1950s. You can go on the internet now and find some of most disturbing and shocking images ever shot, that the footage questioned in "The Notorious Bettie Page" seems almost childlike and innocent. Most of the footage including the bondage did not feature nudity when Bettie Page was involved yet today we have sick images where we can see women having sex with animals. I find that maybe the envelope has been pushed a little too far since the 1950s because looking at this movie in terms of today's pornography, it was very tastefully done.

To be honest, I was pretty impressed with "The Notorious Bettie Page," I found the film to be very well done and interesting. The movie is exactly what the trailer leads you to believe it will be and is a very interesting look at one of the first female sex icons in America. Gretchen Mol looks just like Bettie Page and gives a very fine performance. I also thought that since the movie was shot in black and white it made the film seem realistic because it made the audience believe they were watching a film created in the late 1950s.

My only complaint about the film was the running time, there seemed to be a few scenes that were cut and seemed to be a little shorter than they should have been. I looked this up and it seems that 10 minutes was cut from the film since its original showing at the Toronto Film Festival. Also the ending was pretty tame and I was expecting a little more from it or maybe some paragraphs to come on the screen to tell the audience more about Bettie Page's life where the film left off. Those are my only two complaints about the film other than that the directing was solid, the acting was great especially Gretchen, and the writing was good.

Mary Harron, who directed "American Psycho", which is one of my favorite films, is the director and writer of "The Notorious Bettie Page." I feel that Mary is a very talented director who knows how to create a setting and create great movies based on characters because like "Psycho", Bettie Page is a character study and a fine one at that. Harron captures the 40s and 50s with ease as well as all the characters. She is a very talented director who I hope will be around for many years to come.

Bottom Line: "The Notorious Bettie Page" is definitely worth a look. It's a very interesting story that shows how far America, as well as the world, has come in terms of pornography. The film also provides a fine performance by Gretchen Mol who literally nails the role of Bettie Page on the head. And top it off with a talented director who was able to capture the look and feel of a previous era and you have a good movie on your hands. Sadly, this film is probably going to flop since not many besides people who grew up in this era will show interest in the film but I think it's worth checking out.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "The Notorious Bettie Page" is a 8/10. It's an interesting character study about one of the most famous pin up girls and sex icons in American history.

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.