The Notorious Bettie Page

Name: The Notorious Bettie Page
Genre: Biography, Drama
Released: April 14, 2006
Duration: 91 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Gretchen Mol, Lili Taylor

2006

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Ratings

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The Notorious Bettie Page

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Movie Details & Credits

Picturehouse Entertainment | Release Date: April 14, 2006 | R

Starring: Gretchen Mol, Lili Taylor

Summary: A provocative exploration of sexuality, religion and pop culture, The Notorious Bettie Page takes us into the 1950s and the fascinating world of famous pin-up girl, Bettie Page. [Picturehouse]

Director: Mary Harron

Genre(s): Biography, Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 91 min

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Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert

Gretchen Mol is finally the key to the mysterious appeal of the film, to its sweetness and sadness. Read full review

Allison Benedikt

It's a joy to see so many cheerful and contented characters on screen, especially on a screen that looks this good. Read full review

Keith Phipps

Mol nails it, in a performance that should earn her a comeback on a Heath Ledger-like scale. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Gretchen Mol is unrelentingly charming in the role and she almost - almost - makes you believe that someone as unclouded as this could actually exist. This film would go well on a double bill with "The Stepford Wives." Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Maitland McDonagh

An oddly lifeless affair, though Gretchen Mol's sunny performance almost hauls it out of its doldrums. Read full review

Rene Rodriguez

The script, which Harron co-wrote with Guinevere Turner, presents a disappointingly superficial portrait of Page as a person. Read full review

Todd McCarthy

A superficial look at the '50s sex icon, picture feels like it was researched via press clippings rather than attempting a fresh rethinking of its era and provocative subject. Read full review

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User Reviews

DaveM.

Aug 31, 2006

The tone of the movie is flawless. Fun to watch. It makes you wish that life could be that simple.

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ChristopherJ.

Jun 19, 2006

Gretchen Mol proves here that she is, or soon will be, a superstar.

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ChadShiira

Oct 22, 2006

Bettie Page (Gretchen Mol) was every man's fantasy, and that's where the filmmaker keeps her, on the pages of a magazine and in scratchy 8mm film. We never see her having sex with anybody. That's a very nice touch, and "The Notorious Bettie Page" is a very nice film. No movie Bettie Page (Gretchen Mol) was every man's fantasy, and that's where the filmmaker keeps her, on the pages of a magazine and in scratchy 8mm film. We never see her having sex with anybody. That's a very nice touch, and "The Notorious Bettie Page" is a very nice film. No movie since Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire" uses both black and white and color photography so judiciously. Black and white does New York justice, as color does the same for a Miami holiday. "The Notorious Bettie Page" is essentially a film about pornography, albeit the period this film captures is an industry still in its infancy, still largely underground. In a bravura sequence, a home movie of the "pornographers" and their models begins innocently enough with fun and games(badminton and croquet); then out comes the rope, and a woman is tied to a tree(more fun and games; bondage), as Peggy Lee sings about "a good day" over the soundtrack. It's interesting to juxtapose this moment with the testimony of a man, later in the film, who blames Bettie's people(the Klaws, Chris Bauer and Lili Taylor) for the unexpected termination of a life. Did Bettie really sin? Is pornography, or even the existence of the female form, harmful? The latter, a question as old as Christianity itself when pertaining to "art". After her career, the pin-up queen is saved, but "you gotta sin to be saved". Bettie professes guilt over career in "modeling", band yet at the moment of their creation, she doesn't look at all guilty, in neither the nude nor the bondage sessions. I can't tell if this aspect of the filmmaker's storytelling is a little muddled, or that the intent is to keep Page on the enigmatic side, with fond remembrance. Mol is awesome.… Expand

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talisencrw

Jan 17, 2016

Harron's biography, specializing on Page's early life, start in pin-ups and notoriety due to being the target for a Senate hearing on indecency and her subsequent born-again Christianity, is very enjoyable, and Gretchen Mol is great at portraying the inner sexiness, naivety and SouthernHarron's biography, specializing on Page's early life, start in pin-ups and notoriety due to being the target for a Senate hearing on indecency and her subsequent born-again Christianity, is very enjoyable, and Gretchen Mol is great at portraying the inner sexiness, naivety and Southern charm that made the Nashville-born Page take the world by storm. Though it made the biopic more graceful by concentrating on the earlier times, it would have been more complete had it also included her later, troubled times, punctuated with brushes with the law and institutionalization for schizophrenia, as well as being greatly financially troubled due to not getting royalties for her years of photo-work and celebrity. Thankfully, late in life, that was rectified and she was able to live her last years decently and in happiness, dying of a heart attack at 85, three years after seeing Harron's work come to light, and her success come full circle...… Expand

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geewah

Jan 29, 2021

A solid but far from perfect biopic on the life of pin-up Bettie Page.
Gretchen Mol is perfectly cast in the lead.

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Halfwelshman

Feb 9, 2012

The Notorious Bettie Page, a biopic of the infamous pin-up icon, is a mildly entertaining romp through Page's early life and modelling career. Gretchen Mol is spot-on as Page, she looks the part and perfectly captures her iconic poses. Jared Harris is also good as seedy British photographerThe Notorious Bettie Page, a biopic of the infamous pin-up icon, is a mildly entertaining romp through Page's early life and modelling career. Gretchen Mol is spot-on as Page, she looks the part and perfectly captures her iconic poses. Jared Harris is also good as seedy British photographer John Willie, as is David Strathairn as Estes Kefauver as a senator investigating the negative impact of pornography on the American people. I also like the stylistic decision to film partially in black-and-white and partially in garish technicolor - it works really well in terms of setting the tone of particular scenes, with Page's formative years and earlier modelling experiences presented with a nostalgic, classic Hollywood appearance, and her celebrity lifestyle in Miami and her most iconic magazine covers presented as garish, striking splashes of colour. Unfortunately, the film does not seem to say an awful lot about anything, beyond a meagre attempt to discuss the morality of nude photography and censorship. A lot of the film, in fact, seems to simply be providing something to fill the space between the softcore thrills. I also feel that the story comes to an end just when it starts to get really interesting. I would love to see a film adaptation of Page's later life, a far darker and more complex period that would offer genuine scope for real drama. That's the main disappointment about The Notorious Bettie Page, for a story of such a controversial figure, the film comes across as a little tame. Director Mary Harron and her co-writer Guinevere Turner could have been so much braver and really gotten behind Bettie Page's motivations, and her seemingly contradictory moral code. As it is, the film is pleasant, but a little limp and uninspiring. I don't begrudge watching such a competent film, but I never felt I got to understand Bettie Page, so as a biopic, it ultimately fails.… Expand

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MarcusG.

May 22, 2006

Boring, superificial, and disappointingly lacking.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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