From a religiously hypocritical up-bringing, to sexual abuse by her father, to being gang-raped in her teens, to a failed marriage, Bettie Page (as a determined, young woman in 1949 with nothing much to lose), then, travelled from her hometown of Nashville to N.Y.C.And when Bettie arrived in The Big Apple full of hopes and dreams, she went from being a failure as a legitimate actress, to appearing in cheesecake magazines, to being a bondage & fetish model in sleazy cinema, to becoming a coyly winking, soft-core pin-up girl.And, finally, things went back around, full-circle, to more religious hypocrisy (ho-hum) with Bettie, now in earnest, arguing the same, old tired crap about morality and the question of Adam & Eve's nakedness.Oh, me! Oh, my! Take my word for it - This "bio" film certainly could've been a helluva lot better than it was.As hot & sizzling & tantalizing as this picture should've been, unfortunately, its final product was a pretty damn tame and light-weight look at Page's career as a piece of provocative "pin-up" eye-candy throughout the conservative, yet turbulent, 1950s.Though actress Gretchen Mol looked simply sensational (in any stage of undress) throughout the story, I found that due to some very poor scripting decisions the Bettie Page character was presented as being too unbelievably naive in regards to the reality and true nature of the sort of employment that she had landed herself into. And rarely, if ever, did Page, at any time, seem to actually find a moment to completely enjoy the fruits of her obvious celebrity status.At a mere 90 minute running time, this film seemed to actually move along at a literal snail's pace. And contrary to what one might think, its subject matter, though intriguing, just wasn't enough to hold my undivided attention.I don't mean to sound downright sexist here, but I personally think that this picture suffered its greatest deficit by being directed by a woman.It appeared to me that director Mary Harron deliberately tried to white-wash and sanitize the notoriety right out of the Bettie Page character, making her appear to be more of an innocent victim of circumstance rather than an active and knowing participant in the manufacturing of "smut".

I never knew anything about or even heard of Bettie Page until I saw this movie. And I think it's decent for a HBO flick but nothing amazing but still a decent watch. Now Bettie Page was America's sensational pin-up girl during the 50's that was notorious for her bondage picks which are pretty tame in today's standards. And the setting is in a period when censorship was very tough, to the point some politicians were claiming that pornographic images are worse than communism. Like the title what drives this movie is the characters of Bettie Page. Although it goes in a straightforward biographical film from how she was a young Christian to how she became a pin-up girl. And Bettie Page is a interesting character and despite her very naive personality she was a likable person. Because despite the hardships she faced and major sexual harassment she got from a young age, she still has this bright and cheerful personality about her. And how she still has kind and friendly nature towards everyone without being bitter despite her circumstances. The directing style is slightly unique as well. It has this retro feel to it and when Bettie is in New York it's black and white to bring about that period feel. And when she is in Miami it's colored but still has that retro visuals. Overall this is a alright watch but nothing all that entertaining or engrossing for a movie about the life of a pin-up girl. Everyone's performances were just excellent especially Gretchen Mol who really captures the essence of Bettie Page.5.5/10

A show well worth peeping. Starring the woman who played lady cop Annie in the U.S. version of the (woefully underrated) Life on Mars TV show, the Notorious Bettie Page is a pretty good movie. It goes into surprising depth RE the increasingly federalized attempts to legislate all aspects of the sex biz out of existence, as well as covering a lot of Miss Page's (very interesting) personal biographical history. Star Gretchen Mol (who seems to specialize in period pieces - the '70s in Life on Mars, and now the '50s) does well with projecting both innocence and naughtiness. I've met part-time pornographer Bunny Yeager and can vouch that the movie's portrayal is fairly accurate, if a bit superficial - much more could have been done with the motivations behind choosing such an "outlaw" endeavor, in a social-status era when jail wasn't anywhere near the worst thing that could result.All in all, tho, a well-done flick --

Bettie Page is a young woman from Tennessee who drifts to New York City in the forties and starts to make a name for herself as a glamour model. When she starts to pose for bondage fetish pictures, it causes ructions in her relationships and she starts to question the value of her vocation in the eyes of her Christian faith.A lot of biopics tend to be about pompous figures from world history, but here's one about someone who was genuinely interesting and lovable. What's most intriguing about Page is that somehow she represents both the glamorous, sexy, fun-lovin' lure of America and the seedy, repressed, puritanical mentality that permeates its society. She's a Bad Girl who was in fact really a Good Girl, and her forthright take-it-or-leave-it attitude towards herself is refreshingly honest and commendable. Mol is fantastic in the lead; with her broad face and blonde curls she doesn't look anything like the real Page, but somehow when she gets the black fringe haircut and starts cheesecake posing for the guys in the house she suddenly blossoms into an amazing dead ringer for the real deal, carefully developing the character's aspirations and doubts. The support cast is good, with fine turns especially from Taylor and Paulson as snappers Paula Klaw and Bunnie Yeager. For whatever reason, Page is popular with women as well as men, and it's refreshing that this film was mostly made by women. Harron's direction is excellent, with nice pacing, mood, comic touches (the recreations of Page's stag loops are wonderful) and terrific juxtaposition of black-and-white New York with colourful Florida. Guinivere Turner's contribution as writer and co-producer is also tremendous. I've always been a huge fan of Page, purely because she was such a striking-looking woman - nobody looked like her or smiled like her. The movie charts her life mostly through her fifties heyday; she had some hard times after that, but her work had a renaissance in the eighties (notably through the character Betty in Dave Stevens' comic The Rocketeer and a fanzine by Greg Theakston) and this movie is a great celebration of her life. She died in 2008. Funded by HBO as a made-for-cable project, but also given a limited theatrical release.