The Notorious Bettie Page


Some of the reviews of this film were quite disparaging, but this is one of those occasions where I must disagree with many of the professional critics. It probably tells the story of Bettie Page's early life and modeling career about as well as any film could, given the source material that was available to work from, including, primarily, the surviving photos, and, of course, Bettie herself. And thank goodness the film was made while she was still alive so that she was still available as a source.

If the film does come across as shallow and uninsightful, well, it's probably mostly because Bettie herself is basically a rather shallow and uninsightful person. But in the case of this film, that's probably as much of a blessing as it is a fault. The film seems to be a straighforward effort to portray the porno industry of the 1950s, and the events of Bettie's career in that industry, without being either preachy or condescending.

And make no mistake about it: tame as they may seem by today's standards, the photos and films Bettie made were indeed pornography. Men bought these pictures to jerk off with, and the people who were making them knew perfectly well (at least for the most part) that that's exactly why they were buying them.

Bettie herself, however, genuinely seems to have been blissfully unaware of the real reason that men wanted to look at these pictures. And while the combination of a religion-influenced upbringing and apparent sexual abuse could easily have twisted anyone's personality in some rather ugly ways, that doesn't seem to have been the case with Bettie. If she really was abused as a teenager and even gang-raped as a woman, that would certainly be something she had in common with a large percentage of the women who do pornography. But something else she had in common, with probably an even *larger* percentage of the women who do pornography, is that she just wasn't a particularly bright person.

Assuming, however, that one is willing to accept the source material on its own terms, the film comes across as a mostly honest attempt to convey the atmosphere, style, and sensitivities of the people, their times, and their circumstances. Perhaps the closest the film comes to being mocking is in the music used during the Senate hearings, which is deliberately sinister and melodramatic (although, even here, the music is not out of character with the type of music that would have been used during that period.)

Even during these Senate hearing scenes, however, the film remains mostly straightforward, including its depiction of the testimony of a man who describes discovering his son dead, after what sounds like an episode of auto-erotic asphyxiation. The father goes on to describe how he also discovered, after going through his son's belongings, a collection of bondage photos that sound very much like the ones Bettie participated in making. Whether Bettie ever actually heard such testimony in 1955 is not really known. But it's entirely plausible to suppose that she would have heard such descriptions at some point in her life.

Gretchen Mol conveys Bettie's persona with pretty much exactly the sweet, friendly, and naively trusting characterisitcs one would expect, given the tone of the few interiews she's given over the years. And I must say that she looks absolutely lovely in those 50s outfits. And I don't mean the bondage gear or lingerie, I mean the conventional dresses and such.

This is particularly true in the Florida scenes, which are shot in color, with a reliance on primary colors and a level of saturation that elegantly recreate the color motifs and style of the mid-1950s. The cinematography, in general, tries to be consistent with the material. The black and white cinematography in the New York scenes does leave something to be desired, probably mostly due to the use of modern equipment and film stock. But many of the color Florida scenes are beautifully composed, and several are quite faithful to the style and color composition of the Bunny Yeager photo sessions.

The film, which was produced by HBO, also features a generous helping of character actors who have figured prominently in several HBO television shows. John Ventimiglia, who plays restauranteur Artie Bucco in The Sopranos, is a member of an amateur "photographer's club". There is also a party scene featuring Ventimiglia together with Max Casella, who plays Artie's recent nemesis Benny Fazio in The Sopranos. Chris Bauer, who was featured in the HBO series The Wire, plays photograher Irving Klaw, and Lili Taylor, who had a regular recurring role in Six Feet Under, plays his sister Paula. And Bunny Yeager, who did several color shoots of Bettie in Florida, including the 1955 Playboy centerfold, is played by Sarah Paulson, who was featured in the HBO series Deadwood.

Additional character actors in the cast include David Strathairn (who recently starred as Edward R. Murrow in Good Night And Good Luck), in a very straighforward performance as Senator Estes Kefauver. John Cullum, of Northern Exposure, plays a southern preacher. And, bringing up the rear, the indelible Austin Pendleton, who plays a teacher in Bettie's acting class.

Any film attempting to tell the story of Bettie Page's career is limited by the scarcity of surviving documentation, and by the rather uninsightful details that Bettie herself has provided. But reaching for a deeper level of analysis would require speculation, along with the interjection of the filmmaker's own personal opinions and biases. Writer/director Mary Harron has admirably managed to use this film to tell Bettie's story, on Bettie's terms, without ramming her own personal viewpoints down our throats. And for that, she is to be commended.