Kind-of Review: The Notorious Bettie Page

For the record, I liked The Notorious Bettie Page. It wasn't exactly all that I had hoped it would be--or that it could have been; but it did succeed in many ways. The acting was great. The costumes were awesome. And the production quality was impressive. In general, Gretchen Mol was a good Bettie Page. And, yes, I will admit that Bettie Page herself was quite slender. But she had a bit more junk in the trunk, as they say, than Gretchen Mol has to offer. So the pin-up poses were OK when Gretchen was Bettie, but they didn't quite live up to the originals. Gretchen Mol herself is not quite pin-up material (which is not to say that she isn't attractive), but she did a good job with what she had.

There were a few semi-substantial problems with the film, though. One was the dialogue, which at times seemed contrived and stilted. And the overall story seemed to only touch the surface of the issues that it raised: Bettie Page's general biography; Page's reconciliation of her religious beliefs with her scandalous work; censorship; sexuality; and perversion. Mary Harron, the film's director, says in the DVD extras that she wanted to make a film that was equally about the life of Bettie Page and "sex in the fifties." But the whole thing comes across as a quick, outline edit of much more rich material. The film itself doesn't really say much about the material that it covers. All of the characters are sympathetic, but they also lack any real depth. The censorship issues are interesting, but the senate hearing scenes are mostly notable for their historical accuracy in set design, costume, and voice. There are a lot of holes and gaps in the film, and the pacing a bit awkward. So it could have been better. But the sylized black-and-white scenes; the retro lingerie and fetish-wear; and the hint of Bettie Page's naughty/nice persona are enough to make it worth a Friday night.