I admit - I started to watch the movie tonight on HBO just out of sheer curiosity to see how they would handle such a 'sensational' topic: the first 'mainstream' naughty pin-up and bondage girl, the 'notorious Bettie Page'... I've read various things about Bettie over the years and wanted to see their version of her story to see how it jibed, figuring they would emphasize the sex over the story.
However, I was very pleasantly surprised at Gretchen Mol's characterization. She's beautiful in her own right and I hadn't seen her in much before so didn't approach the movie with too many preconceptions about the lead actress. In fact, she does such a great job subsuming her own looks and character into Bettie's, I would never have known who she was without looking it up. (From her pics on IMDb.com, Gretchen's usually a blond, but she looks equally amazing as a brunette in TNBP.)
Gretchen Mol manages to capture the 'innocent little girl in a woman's body' quality of Bettie, the joy and exuberance at life, the blindingly beautiful smile, the absolute happiness and playfulness Bettie exuded in the bulk of her pictures, nude or not. Bettie managed to make it all look like fun and natural (unlike the bulk of the pinups you see around today, where the women either look slutty or angry or bored.) Gretchen Mol caught those qualities Bettie was best known for amazingly well herself, never once making me think 'oh this is an actress playing Bettie' but feeling like I was really watching the original.
The movie, no doubt, took quite a few liberties with events and people, but I think they did a great job overall, managing to keep even the full nude scenes tasteful but mostly accurate based on the source material, showing a full range of the type of pics and movies Bettie actually posed for and acted in without making it seem the only justification for the whole movie. (Small differences, like using Jaguars instead of Cheetahs in the famous jungle pics can be forgiven since I like Jags better anyway. =)
The look and feel of the movie, bouncing between black and white and color was also done well. It puts you in a 50's old classic movies mood to start with, then makes you feel as if you've fallen into the real world with the characters in all their original color glory, 'fleshing' out scenes, if you will. (Bad pun, I know!)
Definitely worth watching in my opinion for anyone interested in the 1940's & 1950's, Bettie Page and the beginning of the 'sexual revolution' (mainstream, that is...) as Playboy and other magazines became commonplace.
(2006) Rated R for nudity, sexual content and some language
Starring Gretchen Mol, David Strathairn, Lily Taylor, John Collum, Norman Readus, Chris Bauer
Get your own copy:
THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE on eBay
THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE
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