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Why is "Bettie Page" so notorious? |
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Written by MICHAEL JAMES ALLEN
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Friday, 21 April 2006 |
I can’t imagine there’s a single man (or 13-year-old boy with an internet connection) in America who doesn’t know the name Bettie Page. The penultimate pin-up girl of the '50s and '60’s, she was one of the country’s first sex symbols. Page’s image is captivating and exciting. The same, however, can’t be said for her story.
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"The Notorious Bettie Page"
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 Entertainment
 Art
Directed by Mary Harron
Written by Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner
Starring Gretchen Mol, Lili Taylor, and David Strathairn
Rated R for nudity, sexual content, and some language
Released April 21, 2006
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Following the recent onslaught of biopics like “Ray” and “Capote” comes “The Notorious Bettie Page,” which follows Bettie (played serviceably by Gretchen Mol) from her poor Tennessee upbringing to her modest success as a bathing suit model, and to the eventual sensation (and supposed notoriety) she causes from becoming a bondage model, posing for a variety of pictures in which she spanks and ties up other women. Through it all Bettie maintains a positive attitude and a love for religion that eventually helps her through hard times later in life.
Minus the sexual undercurrent, I imagine that sounds like a rather dull plot summary. It sounds that way because it is. To be honest, I don’t think Bettie Page is interesting enough to warrant an entire movie, and if she does, then this is not the right one. The film is made well, directed by Mary Harron in a grainy black-and-white (with occasional flashes of deep color) that evokes the style of Bettie’s photos. But the problem lies in the story: While an awful lot of things seem to happen in the film, no time is devoted to explaining what significance they have. An example of this occurs in an early scene in which Bettie is abducted and gang raped. The film depicts this vividly, but never bothers to explain why. Are we led to believe that this is the reasoning for why Bettie eventually became a bondage model (an explanation that feels rather trite)? The film never says.
“The Notorious Bettie Page” feels like a bunch of missed opportunities. Issues such as the mindset of the bondage fan, and the government’s crackdown on taboo pornography are brought up but never fully explored. This may be a conscious choice by the filmmakers as it mirrors Bettie’s attitude (who is often blissfully unaware of the implications of her work). The problem, however, is that the things that surround Bettie’s life are just more interesting than Bettie herself.
Still, it is fun to watch Bettie having fun — she smiles and laughs her way through most of her modeling jobs and the light-hearted mood is infectious. The people who snap pictures of her are not creepy entrepreneurs but rather polite photographers who are more concerned with Bettie’s comfort than whether or not she will take off her clothes. A peek into the closed-doors world of pornographic photography could make for a fascinating movie. But again, just as our interests are piqued, the film decides to skirt the issue. “The Notorious Bettie Page” is filled with many interesting ideas that do not add up to a satisfying whole, and the portrait the film paints of Bettie Page is, unfortunately, just as two-dimensional as one of her photos. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
