A disappointingly superficial Bettie Page biopic.
Added 4/6/2009
After reading Eric Schlosser's REEFER MADNESS (which details, among other things, the history of pornography and "adult" entertainment, including the U.S. government's attempts to outlaw such vices, First Amendment be damned!), I rented THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE, thinking that it might be interesting to see the '50s "war on porn" brought to life. While the film does begin with a Congressional inquiry into the "illegal" activities of Irving and Paula Klaw (who employed Page for a time), this angle is used as a vehicle with which to explore Page's life, and the anti-pornography craze soon fades to the background. When the topic is covered, it's done so superficially, with little attention to detail.
Which is all fine and good - after all, the film is called THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE for a reason - except the movie also fails to offer much insight into Page's childhood, her path to becoming a pinup model, or her life after sex work. Page's conversion to Christianity, for example, concludes the film - but the audience is left with little idea as to the how's or why's of her newfound fundamentalism.
All in all, THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE is stylistic but superficial - which is frustratingly disappointing, given the subject matter. The filmmakers missed an incredible opportunity to examine not just the rise and retirement of the Notorious Ms. Page, but also government corruption and censorship, the beginnings of the sexual revolution, the effects of sexual abuse on women, and the state of feminism in the '50s.
Though THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE is rated R, I thought it was rather tame. Only two of the photo shoots involve nudity; while risqué outfits and poses are depicted throughout the film, it's nothing you couldn't find on the cover of MAXIM or FHM nowadays. Two instances of rape are implied, though never shown, which is a relief - too often, violence against women is sexualized and glamorized, and I admire the filmmaker's decision to merely hint at the sexual traumas endured by Page.
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history touches all fields.
Added 3/25/2009
being a possible porn film I thought the director and producer kept a level of professionalism throughout the film.
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Superficial Portrait of the Legendary "Dark Angel" Pin Up
Added 1/8/2009
Born in 1923 in Nashville, Tennessee, Bettie Page endured childhood sexual abuse and a disastrous marriage before she arrived in New York in the 1940s. Paige hoped to create a career as an actress, and indeed her talents were such that she was able to enroll in the celebrated HB Studio acting school--but it was a model that she would find fame, first doing "cheesecake" photographs for popular men's magazines of the day and later as a "specialty" model in bondage, S&M, and fetish photographs. Although most models in these genres had very short careers, Page was so popular that her career ran about a decade.
Censorship issues put an end to Page's work as a specialty model in the late 1950s; by this point, however, Page was less interested in modeling than in Christianity. She increasingly turned to the church, attending at least three Bible colleges and ultimately becoming a full-time employee for evangelist Billy Graham. But the early years of abuse and her time in spotlight took a toll as the years passed. In the late 1970s she experienced a complete mental collapse and spent some two years in a California state hospital.
A resurgence of interest in Page's work began in the late 1970s, but she herself would remain entirely oblivious of it until 1990s. Living in poverty in a group home, she eventually sought to exercise control over the distribution of her image, and in consequence was able to live in some comfort until her death in 2008. It had been a rocky ride for the woman known as "The Dark Angel," true, but an interesting one just the same. It is therefore somewhat disappointing that to date no film has successfully captured the essence of Page or her story.
THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE is more or less correct so far as the known facts are concerned, but it never delves deeply enough to create a truly interesting script, much less story. Although the film tries to organize the story within a framework the Senate Subcommittee Hearings on Juvenile Delinquency (which was a factor in ending Page's career), it lacks general focus and comes to a rather abrupt end when Page turns fully toward the church.
When all is said and done, THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE is at most a mildly interesting portrait of the celebrated "Dark Angel" pin up, entertaining enough but not in the least memorable. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, a making-of documentary--and, surprise, footage of Bettie Page, who was clearly a lot more sizzling and interesting than this little film allows.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
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It is a good day for creeping porn?
Added 1/6/2009
I suppose this is supposed to be ok because she became a lay minister at the end?
For me this movie is the beginning of a social rot that eventually will have to be dealt with.
There is probably a reason why we wear things and certain behavior is controlled by law in almost all organized societies?
What some people think is a more open culture is actually probably just a sign of social decay. We had 40000 years in the stone age and as a result
there were social codes that were pretty universal with a few exceptions.
Until mankind gets better at controlling his urges, he has to try to stall inside certain bounds or
all social conduct is in danger?
Pornography is one thing we are in serious trouble over as a society.
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This film could have stood to be a tad more notorious...
Added 8/6/2008
Some films suffer from a heavy hand; direction that is too concentrated on a deep and meaningful delivery that the real meat of the film finds itself bogged down by a self-imposed dramatics. That is not that case with `The Notorious Betty Page'. There is a completely different problem running through the veins of this film. `The Notorious Betty Page' suffers from direction that takes its material too lightly, making what could have been a deeper and more meaningful biopic feel almost hollow in parts. It's very point-by-point and at times very vapid.
That isn't to say that it isn't somewhat enjoyable, and it certainly has its highlights, but as a whole `The Notorious Betty Page' could have and should have been `fuller'.
The film centers around none other than Betty Page, the famous pin-up queen who used her body and `god given talent to pose for men' to catapult her name and image onto the covers of magazines and the minds of men everywhere. The film spends a few minutes giving us a little background information on Betty's childhood and adolescence before throwing us into her quick ascent into the world of adult entertainment.
Above anything else one must notice the brilliant performance given by Gretchen Mol. Her portrayal of Betty Page is phenomenally on point, never wavering from her grasp of her characters inner struggles with life in general. She manages to capture the air of the era (a feat captured by actresses like Julianne Moore in `Far From Heaven'), delving into a more mannered delivery, yet she remains fresh and natural, allowing her characters naivety and innocence to permeate her delivery and flourish within each scene. When Page is behind the camera Mol comes to life, vibrant and casual and gallant, but she also manages to capture Page's separation from character, which can be seen in moments when she is confronted by fans of her work.
`The Notorious Betty Page' plays a little like `Ed Wood' meets `Gia' with the story gutted from it. The direction has the air of Burton's masterpiece (both are shot in black & white and both capture the very mood of the time period) and the `rise to fame' story has draws to `Gia' (of course without the drug use) but `The Notorious Betty Page' feels empty in ways that neither of the other two films ever felt. It's sad because Betty's lifestyle could have used a little heavier handling, for it would have added a darker edge that could have elevated the film, adding some depth. Instead the film carries with it the same naivety that Page herself depended on and so the film winds up merely mirroring its star; albeit that the star fairs much better than the film itself.
`The Notorious Betty Page' is light frothy fun, but if you are wanting a more in depth study of character then there are certainly other biopic's to chose from (the two I mentioned in particular are great examples). Gretchen Mol gets a clear `A' from me, but the film itself lands at the high end of a `C'.
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