>>REVIEW
THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE
STARRING Gretchen Mol, Lili Taylor and David Strathairn
DIRECTED BY Mary Harron
Opens Friday, May 12
Uptown Screen
The Notorious Bettie Page is a sweet, good-natured film that is not out to offend or even necessarily educate. It abandons a point of view in favour of entertaining and exists without judgment, much like Ms. Bettie Page herself.
Bettie Page, the iconic ’50s pin-up sensation, is most famous for her bondage photos, in which she is depicted tied up, ball-gagged, handcuffed and trussed. She also made many bondage films where she is seen either "mime spanking" or being "mime spanked" by another scantily clad woman (or women). This type of fetishism, while arguably benign today, was considered underground and perverse in the 1950s, so much so that a senate hearing was called to determine whether or not this "pornography" was an addiction that could spread like a virus if the adolescent male was exposed to it.
Pagewas never called to testify in the hearing, and if she had been, the head of the subcommittee for decency, Senator Estes Kefauver (David Strathairn), might have been in for a surprise because Page, a devout Christian, loved making movies for "special clients" and never once thought that what she was doing was indecent or immoral – often referring to her fetish wear as "costumes" and her ball-gags and whips merely as "props." It wasn’t that Page was naïve – she just didn’t judge the city officials or lawyers who enjoyed these types of films.
The Notorious Bettie Page is so damn charming I almost couldn’t stand it. Everything about its subject material screams heavy-handed, but co-writer and director Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol) is a masterful artist who chooses to use Page’s sunny disposition not only as a lens to see through, but also a template for the film’s entire tone – showing us (in glorious black-and-white) that the 1950s were in fact, a more innocent time.
But Harron doesn’t act alone. Gretchen Mol’s fearless performance as Page is at the centre of this fine film and it is Oscar worthy. Mol is careful not to allow the films esthetic to dictate her performance – even though The Notorious Bettie Page feels like a sweet 50’s melodrama, Mol is always truthful and often brilliant.
I never thought I’d be able to say, "Finally a movie about bondage and fetish porn suitable for grandma and grandpa," but it’s true. So go on, take them to see this delightful film. I’m sure they’ll enjoy the stroll down memory lane. |
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