The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jeff "

  
  The Notorious Bettie Page directed by American Psycho director, Mary Harron is an interesting, but imperfect attempt at capturing the life of the first pinup queen Bettie Page to the screen. I felt the film lacked something that has made other biopics so good. The film is good and has… More
  The Notorious Bettie Page directed by American Psycho director, Mary Harron is an interesting, but imperfect attempt at capturing the life of the first pinup queen Bettie Page to the screen. I felt the film lacked something that has made other biopics so good. The film is good and has a lot of solid performances, but the fact is, it lacked something to truly make it a good biopic. I felt that considering the subject matter, they could have made a truly unique biopic about this pinup sensation. The film is a good effort, but it could've used a bit more substance. The actress chosen to play Bettie Page, Gretchen Mol is perfect for the part. The films problem is that it touches only the surface of who Bettie Page was. The film doesn't truly go into vivid detail, like most biopics. The filmmakers left a lot of material out of the story, and just keep what is known about Bettie Page, her illicit modeling career. The rest seems to be left out, we never truly find out how she was brought up, and such. Those would have been things that they could've put in the film to make it a more rounded biopic. Fortunately there's a phenomenal cast that graces this film and they each bring something interesting to the screen. But like I said, the film lacks substance and effective development to really make this an interesting and memorable biopic. But this film is still worth checking out, for what it is; it's a good try at bringing Bettie Page's life to the screen.

• xGary X

  
  A biopic based on the life of burlesque queen and icon Bettie Page, The Notorious mirrors the lady in question by being rather appealing on a superficial level but containing little of any real substance. The script skips over the abuse and indignities of her early life in a way that… More
  A biopic based on the life of burlesque queen and icon Bettie Page, The Notorious mirrors the lady in question by being rather appealing on a superficial level but containing little of any real substance. The script skips over the abuse and indignities of her early life in a way that almost seems dismissive, concentrating instead on parading the appropriately earthy beauty of Gretchen Mol around in various states of undress. There is little in the way of conflict or drama to the story and as such is really an exercise in eye candy; it's attractively shot in noir-esque black and white, occasionally switching to aping the garish technocolor of the time (although I couldn't help wishing that they'd just picked one and stuck with it) and features some attractive costume design. It's also complimented by a quality supporting cast including the always watchable Lili Taylor and an amusing turn by Jared Harris as a booze-sodden photographer but ultimately there's very little to it. When by far the most promising aspect of the story featuring a senatorial tribunal on public decency fizzles away to nothing it becomes obvious that the plot is as scanty as some of Ms Page's outfits and I didn't really feel it justified an hour and half of my time. A few chuckles at the expense of 50s naivety and little more.

• Cynthia S

  
  This was pretty good. I had never heard of this woman, but the nice way that they made this film about her made me look her up. The resemblance of Bettie Page and Gretchen Mol is amazing. It is really good to see a happy ending to this kind of star. I was half expecting a tragic… More
  This was pretty good. I had never heard of this woman, but the nice way that they made this film about her made me look her up. The resemblance of Bettie Page and Gretchen Mol is amazing. It is really good to see a happy ending to this kind of star. I was half expecting a tragic ending, but it all seemed to turn out ok. Nice job.

• Anthony L

  
  An honest account of the Bette Page years. I'm glad it didn't go down the usual route like Ray & Walk the Line, instead it kept to the facts. Page wasn't such an interesting person but her story is, she is a huge icon of the 20th Century, so the story is worth… More
  An honest account of the Bette Page years. I'm glad it didn't go down the usual route like Ray & Walk the Line, instead it kept to the facts. Page wasn't such an interesting person but her story is, she is a huge icon of the 20th Century, so the story is worth telling and it is told beautifully thanks to the very convincing Mol and the extremely talented Mary Harron who is easily one of the best directors around today. More please Mrs Harron!

• Curtis L

  
  Mol was pretty cute...like an innocent kitten cute, which isn't what I would have expected Page to be like, but it made for an interesting movie.

• Michael G

  
  A great-looking but boring movie--a perfect parallel for Mol's good, but dull portrayal of Page. Or Page herself, for that matter. The bouncing from black and white to heavily saturated color with locales was great, as was seeing Gretchen Mol's lady garden, but I never… More
  A great-looking but boring movie--a perfect parallel for Mol's good, but dull portrayal of Page. Or Page herself, for that matter. The bouncing from black and white to heavily saturated color with locales was great, as was seeing Gretchen Mol's lady garden, but I never really gave a shit about Betty. It's generally boring and completely forgettable.

• Gordon A

  
  Flat but effective biopic with a great performance from Mol

• jay n

  
  gretchen mol is very good but the film is missing something

• Michael S

  
  Very good Biopic. Entertaining and sexy.

• Antony S

  
  A film regarding the rise of 'degrading' pornography is fashioned as a fairly sweet indie comedy, this biopic of 50s pin-up sensation Bettie Page won't be too all tastes. But perhaps that's the point. The tale opens with Bettie's post-childhood trauma years;… More
  A film regarding the rise of 'degrading' pornography is fashioned as a fairly sweet indie comedy, this biopic of 50s pin-up sensation Bettie Page won't be too all tastes. But perhaps that's the point. The tale opens with Bettie's post-childhood trauma years; she is shy and apprehensive, but easily charmed. This aspect of her is then manipulated by a group of horny college boys in order to gang-rape her. Some time after this ordeal, she finds that the highly taboo practice of S&M photoshoots could be for her. Instead of being some sort of vice or crutch to alleviate her distresses on, Page treats the topic as sweet 'n' light, agreeing that people enjoy seperate things; if anything she finds it amusing. This is, the crux of Harron' story, that there need be no real connection between trauma and 'specialist' pornography. Sadism isn't necessarily the by-product of deviance, and it's her persuavive argument that allows the auidence to be comfortbaly on Bettie's side when the US clampdown on 'degradation' marked her out as public enemy no.1. Harron's film is finely crafted with some superb camerwork, the majority of it in monochrome, intentionally mimicking old photographs, and the occaisonal vibrant colour used for Bettie's various magazine covers.

• Nate Z

  
  [center][img]http://img272.imageshack.us/img272/8910/thenotoriousbettiepagejm2.jpg[/img] [/center] [color=DarkRed][font=Arial] A somewhat shallow biopic, [i]The Notorious Bettie Page[/i] is kept afloat by an incandescent performance from Gretchen Mol, at one time the appointed… More
  [center][img]http://img272.imageshack.us/img272/8910/thenotoriousbettiepagejm2.jpg[/img] [/center] [color=DarkRed][font=Arial] A somewhat shallow biopic, [i]The Notorious Bettie Page[/i] is kept afloat by an incandescent performance from Gretchen Mol, at one time the appointed future Hollywood It Girl. Mol imbues the same transcendent mix of girl-next-door sweetness and sex-kitten-in-training vivaciousness that Page was famous for; she was, in the same moment, both angel and temptress, and yet never understood the impact. We get your standard assembly of biopic moments but some intriguing past elements barely get touched on, like the potential sexual abuse Page may have experienced from her father. There’s a ripe conflict of sex vs. sin waiting to be explored that also seems to get the most cursory of exposure. Director Mary Haron ([i]I Shot Andy Warhol[/i], [i]American Psycho[/i]) cleverly stages the movie as if it was a product of Page’s own time, but it also places the film in an artistic limbo because of its strident, possibly anachronistic forward thinking. Bettie Page is such an interesting person and had such a lasting impact, not just on the debate over what constitutes pornography, but the movies fails to tell us why she should still even be relevant. It feels somewhat of a shame that such a person, simultaneously a devout Christian and bondage pin-up queen, doesn’t get a better character showcase. Still, the movie is well made and Mol is luminous, imitating Page’s cheesecake poses and faces to perfection. [i]The Notorious Bettie Page[/i] would have worked better looking harder at what made its title heroine notorious and memorable still to this day. Nate's Grade: B-[/font][/color]

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]"The Notorious Bettie Page" is a biopic about the legendary pinup model, Bettie Page(Gretchen Mol), who was raised as a good Christian girl in Nashville but is also abused by her father. After a failed marriage and a stint at being a teacher, she decides… More
  [font=Century Gothic]"The Notorious Bettie Page" is a biopic about the legendary pinup model, Bettie Page(Gretchen Mol), who was raised as a good Christian girl in Nashville but is also abused by her father. After a failed marriage and a stint at being a teacher, she decides to strike out on her own for New York City where she is noticed by an amateur photographer at Coney Island. This leads to an unorthodox modeling career for fetish publications and in the nude while trying to pursue an acting career.[/font] [font=Century Gothic]"The Notorious Bettie Page" is a pefectly adequate biopic that does not venture much below the surface. It does not do a very good job of explaining why Bettie Page is still a legend fifty years after her modeling career ended. Gretchen Mol gives an excellent performance, capturing the apparent contradictions of a nice person(she does not drink nor sleep around) who is also comfortable posing undressed.[/font] [font=Century Gothic]The movie demolishes the notion of a connection between pornography and sexual assault. Page is sexually assaulted before she leaves Nashville but is treated kindly by the photographers and fetishists she meets in New York and Miami Beach.[/font] [font=Century Gothic]The New York and Nashville sections of the movie were filmed in black and white while Miami Beach was filmed in color.(Not really like that in real life.) The movie has a nostalgiac tone, especially towards what could not be shown in those old photos. But you have to remember, that even the material that was not that racy had to be hidden from view and could not be sent through the mail. And I would much rather have everything out in the open where people can be open about their desires and can choose the explicitness of the images they view.[/font]

• Panta O

  
  This is a movie made with passion! I enjoyed every minute of it, because it presents to all of us a part of the history which is usually not told to anyone. Gretchen Mol had a really well done role - believable and brutally honest!

• Alec B

  
  Gretchen Mol was born to play this part. I don't think many other actresses could have captured Bettie Page in the way she has here. Its interesting how the director, Mary Harron, explores the innocence in the type of photography and films Bettie Page did. The people that made… More
  Gretchen Mol was born to play this part. I don't think many other actresses could have captured Bettie Page in the way she has here. Its interesting how the director, Mary Harron, explores the innocence in the type of photography and films Bettie Page did. The people that made them were not the sick perverts that we imagine, they were honest people just trying to make a living. Harron also wisely sidsteps a lot of the cliches associated with the biopic genre by keeing the film small. Its an interesting story about a very different time.

• Daniel P

  
  The problem with <I>The Notorious Bettie Paige</I> is that, despite the title, Paige's life just isn't *that* interesting. A struggling actress who made money by initially entering beauty pageants, then moved on to photo-shoots in bikinis and then progressed onto… More
  The problem with <I>The Notorious Bettie Paige</I> is that, despite the title, Paige's life just isn't *that* interesting. A struggling actress who made money by initially entering beauty pageants, then moved on to photo-shoots in bikinis and then progressed onto 'provocative' bondage spreads and mini-films and on to topless modelling, there's little in the way of exciting revelations, dramatic intent or even character development. To use the cliché, it's very much style over substance. Since the story is quite tame by today's standards, much of the success is down to the really rather beautiful way the film is shot. <p>Using black and white photography (with occasional 'pop-out' color sections), Mary Harron uses many of the camera techniques and connotations associated with the films of the period, and the stunning music score is also very evocative. Even the credit sequence is beautifully designed, so what you in essence get is a film that feels like it was made during the period depicted but one that itself would *never* have received distribution or certification at the time (think <I>Far From Heaven</I> or <I>The Good German</I>). With a fearless performance from a splendid Gretchon Mol and good support from indie fave Lili Taylor, <I>Bettie Paige</I> is worth a watch but wont linger in the mind.

• Ed Fucking H

  
  Ah Betty Page, the ultiment girl. I really enjoyed this bippic even if was slightly flawed. The pace is very fast in this one and a lot of the characters and periods of Betties life wer rushed through to quickly for me. This is a minor complaint as it didn't really affect my… More
  Ah Betty Page, the ultiment girl. I really enjoyed this bippic even if was slightly flawed. The pace is very fast in this one and a lot of the characters and periods of Betties life wer rushed through to quickly for me. This is a minor complaint as it didn't really affect my overall enjoyment of the film, but it was a little dissapointing at times. Gretchen Mol was fabulous as Bettie Page and she really looked like Bettie. The film was a little more tame than I would have liked but I do think they captured the era and the woman very well. Recommended.

• Brian R

  
  Good film by Mary Harron. Gretchen Mol does a fine job as the pin up queen Bettie Page. What amazes me is how Page was able to make the transition from being an erotic symbol to a devout Christian. The visuals is useful in it's use of b&w and beautiful use of old color stock… More
  Good film by Mary Harron. Gretchen Mol does a fine job as the pin up queen Bettie Page. What amazes me is how Page was able to make the transition from being an erotic symbol to a devout Christian. The visuals is useful in it's use of b&w and beautiful use of old color stock from the 1950's. Harron stays true to the period of the times and to the main character Bettie Page.

• Doctor S

  
  Interestingly tame - dare I say "wholesome"?? - biopic of the 1950s pinup queen. Effective in demonstrating the public and legal perceptions of decency of the time. Most compelling moment has Bettie, a devout Christian, justifying her rationale for her modeling career in… More
  Interestingly tame - dare I say "wholesome"?? - biopic of the 1950s pinup queen. Effective in demonstrating the public and legal perceptions of decency of the time. Most compelling moment has Bettie, a devout Christian, justifying her rationale for her modeling career in light of her religious beliefs while tethered in saucy underwear, I wish the movie had more insightful scenes like this. Gretchen Mol is perfectly gorgeous while impressively inhabiting the identity of an icon.

• Laurence C

  
  Personally, I have never found myself to completely fall in love with Great And Important Prestige Biopics. They are easy to admire and often extremely competent, but frankly, they are not often terribly sweeping pieces of cinema. That could be just fine with me-- why ask for a tidal… More
  Personally, I have never found myself to completely fall in love with Great And Important Prestige Biopics. They are easy to admire and often extremely competent, but frankly, they are not often terribly sweeping pieces of cinema. That could be just fine with me-- why ask for a tidal wave of groundbreaking ideas and conceptual flashes when you simply paint a somewhat significant portrait of someone influential or notable in their field? Thing is, most of them (and it really isn't their fault... mostly) end up covering a similar character arc (pre-glory days, rise to fame, inevitable downfall) no matter who the tragic-slash-comedic-slash-humanitarian figure is. And it makes them... a little bit usual. A little bit cookie-cutter. A little bit boring. But here, we are not talking Great And Important Prestige Biopic much. Nor are we talking tragic-slash-comedic-slash-humanitarian figure. It's a film about Bettie Page, the pin-up icon from the 50s-- and yes, she was sexually abused during her pre-stardom days. You could very much write an entire picture positioning Bettie as a feminist icon, who made an entire career of pornography and nudity as a way of reconquering her own body (and place those horrifying events as a psychological leitmotiv)... but director Mary Harron isn't interested in that. No, really, it's not all that serious, and thematically, it's a bit on the thin side. It kinds of skims the surface of Page's life, and there is no real dramatic tension to be found here. Personally, I find all of this very refreshing-- nearly all of the questions and answers are left up to the viewer. The point is not to get to know who the real Bettie Page was... but the point is to get a look a *what* Bettie Page was. Plus... if you're a sucker for films set in the 50s, The Notorious Bettie Page is a downright treat, from its absolutely spot-on look to its textured, smokey feel. It's a charming motion picture, full of lovely directorial touches and dominated by a delightful central performance. There's no big message about our porn consumer culture, nor is there one about our commodification of innocent young women into sex objects. It's all glorious and shallow retelling of the most glorious and shallow years of a fifties pin-up model. That's it. That's more than fine with me, and that's more than enough to heartily recommend this one. You should consider seeing it. Really.

• Audrey L

  
  this was an interesting film yet I could not swallow her naivete and apparent wholesomeness while watching the S and M poses etc.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings