I rented the film THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE today...





You know, when I first read the biography THE REAL BETTIE PAGE (around 1995 or so) I knew it would just be a matter of time before it would be made into a movie... and I so hoped that movie would be tasteful...truthful...telling....observant Capturing the walking dichotomy that Bettie Page is...



I am not disappointed. This is a lovely, moving film, wonderfully done, filled with funny and poignant moments.



Lili Taylor is wonderful as Paula Klaw... the nicest sweetest pornographer you'd ever want to meet.



Gretchen Mol did a bang-up job.... committing fully to the role. Several fully nude scenes, but she did them as Bettie did.... with a sunny, breezy lack of self-consciousness.



How could a bright, Southern Baptist girl end up posing for softcore B&D rags?



The film almost implies that Bettie's dabbling in bondage and masochism was her way of personally feeling the Passion of The Christ for herself. Fascinating.



Like KINSEY and the lesser-seen film, BEEFCAKE (depicting the gay male "flipside" of the Bettie Page story) THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE captures that moment in the 1950's, when sex was viewed almost as a Communist takeover plot.



Any of you have seen this??

I have not. I was merely intrigued before your review, but now I really want to get into the city and see this.

I saw it when it was released in the movies. Unlike you, I was dissapointed. I wish I was as talented a writer as you are and could give you an intelligent sounding narrative of why I didn't like it - but alas - I'm not.

I simply didn't like how Bettie was portrayed - I think they 'wrote' her naive bordering on stupid. I didn't appreciate that b/c I don't believe Bettie was stupid or dumb. I think the girl that played Bettie is beautiful in her own right, but doesn't have the punch the real Bettie did. Bettie's look was unapologetic, vavavoom, BIG. This girl was almost innocently beautiful, sweet, soft. She wasn't edgy enough. But I'm extremely demanding as you can see.

I also felt the movie left alot of 'blank' spots - not enough information - too many loose ends.

What I DID appreciate was that they 'alluded' to a gang rape, and to child molestation, and didn't actually SHOW anything traumatic. I did appreciate that was just 'hinted' at and not actually dramatized, or it would've been too disturbing for me to watch. However, I have to wonder if those things actually happened to her.

Cinematographically the movie WAS spectacular. The director used very intense colorization to mimic the color style of the 50's and he really captured that in this movie. That was perhaps one of the better aspects of the film, was how it was shot, the color vs black and white, the choice of color process, technically speaking, it was very well done.

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No, rasputin . . . but now I want to see this flick, too! I have seen the notorious Ms. Page interviewed, on television. Couldn't take my eyes off her! Like a naughty kewpie doll. Very, cute lady! The theological angle is provocative, to be sure.
To be frank, Armanis has ALWAYS been fascinated, by centerfold models . . .

Well Rasp -- if you liked it, I'll have ta see it ....;-) despite the critics ;-)

I think the critics were about 50/50 in their appraisal of it.



Irina, I've been thinking aboiut your comments, and I'll agree, the film left a number of loose ends open. My take on this was, the director, a woman, did not want to be too heavy-handed in her depiction of the story; if she'd made Bettie out to be too ballsy, she might come across as a bit of a nymphomaniac skank, and then-- where's the story in that? WILFUL WHORE GETS HER COMEUPPANCE is not much of a story. So I think Gretchen Mol's depiction of her as being somewhat simple-- as much of America was sexually simple at the time-- was part of the story.



Upon reflection, I am sure also that the director wanted the viewer to independently learn more about Bettie, if that was his/her choice. And the director's film style-- ie., implying things, leaving things unsaid-- I read as being a "poetic" touch, even (dare I say it?) a feminine touch, letting the audience fill in gaps with their own meaning. This film, to me, had the feel of a Jane Campion, not an Oliver Stone.



Really, I think the director was more concerned with making a political/feminist/historical comment than she was with limning the timeline of a particular person's life.



I thought it was touching the way the director does not make fun of Bettie's Christian faith, however "Southern fried" it might have been. Also afoot in this film lurks the more dicey subject of Jewish New York City (as represented by "amoral" Paula and Irving Klaw) versus the "simpler" morality of America's hinterlandish Christians.

Just my "takes". I do hope others will hit BLOCKBUSTER and rent this, then weigh in here...

Ras, that's very insightful - as always ;-)