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The Notorious Bettie
Page
Directed by: Mary Harron
Starring: Gretchen Mol
Genre:
Drama
Run Time: 91
min.
Release Date:
April 2006
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE
is intelligently filmed, using grainy black and white film stock that
gives it a period piece feel. And, unfortunately, this is the most
notable part of the entire production. Although actress Gretchen Mol
does an excellent acting job (even when completely naked), the story
fails simply because there's little to no understanding as to Bettie's
motivations.
That Bettie Page was one of the first celebrated pin-ups in the world is
well-known. Her leather and bondage photos launched her into an
underground fetish realm that soon sparked congressional hearings on the
matter, too. But it was her infectious innocence that most people
comment on and Mol certainly got that aspect down pat. Where the movie
blurs is the understanding of Bettie's life experiences, and this portion
fails miserably thanks to a script lacking such content.
For instance … In the beginning of the flick we're with Bettie while she
sits in church with her mother. From this we are supposed to surmise (I
guess) that Bettie is fairly pious. But sitting in church does not equate
to piety. In fact, Bettie is seen flirting with a young boy, so this
didn't jive with any sort of religious binding she may have felt towards
the end of the movie; she does "turn to Christianity" in the end, as
history tells us. So everything from her naïve attitudes towards her
pictures to her comfort level with nudity didn't make sense in terms of
her religious attitudes at the beginning and end.
The other portion that is bothersome is the lack of any angst. Bettie is
so comfortable with what her fetish photo sessions that we don't feel
there's any problem with it. We never get outside of Bettie (except for
the congressional hearings which, again, are lacking any intensity), so
never really see what others think of what she's doing, thus giving us
no sense of any wrong-doing. The congressional hearings are just barely
touch on and give little to no understanding as to how they got started,
too.
That Bettie is possibly molested by her father is also alluded to but
never fully explored. The assumption (again, I'm guessing) is that the
audience is supposed to make the connection between her childhood abuse
and her choice as a sexual icon later in life. But we only see one
little snippet (about eight seconds of actual film time) on this topic
and then it is summarily dropped.
Although the great black and white photography and the fascinating
history surrounding this sexual dynamo may be appealing on one level,
the fouled-up script makes it too easily forgettable.
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Image from The Notorious
Betty Paige
DVD cost: $22.99
Purchase:
BestPrices.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
The characters of
real-life bondage photographers Irving and Paula Klaw were actually
brother and sister, not a married couple as many critics erroneously
reported in reviews.
Movie Quote: "Betty,
do you understand what kind of man buys these kind of pictures."
Other Actors/Actresses
from The Notorious Betty Paige
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