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Often
proclaimed "the most photographed person in
the world," Bettie Page was a photographer's
model in the 50's and early 60's who appeared
in a variety of what we would now consider soft
core pornography. At the beginning, her work
ran the gamut of photography models of the time.
She did her share of burlesque dancing, underwear
displaying and foot fetishist modeling appearing
in both still photographs (that we sold as single
images as well as to magazines) and short films.
She also appeared nude (with her nether regions
creatively kept unexposed) in what were considered
"naturalist" and "nudist" magazines and films.
And then there were her most popular scenarios,
that of a bondage fetishist who was usually
victim (although not always). In these films
and pictures, she could appear bound and gagged
with a red rubber ball. She could be spanked.
She could even wrestle another scantily clad
female model in a match to rival the most aggressive
of male wrestlers.
Bettie Page is an icon of these images. The
most famous model of this kind. And with the
event of digital memory and cyberspace technologies,
her images has become fixed in time and space,
permanently cemented with a seemingly more innocent
age, when things were more black and white,
not only in the photographs where Bettie appeared,
but in morality of the local community as well.
Even if you've never heard her name before,
it is almost a given that you have seen Bettie
Page.
Bettie's story is incredibly unique as well
and it helps in its own way to permanently encase
her in time. After modeling for about 15 years
or so, Bettie disappeared from the public eye
leaving in her wake a time capsule of tantalizing
images of the female body in various degrees
of attire. Since no new images of Bettie came
forth, she seems frozen in time as an eternally
youthful woman who never aged and was therefore
never dishonored by the encroaching years of
hardcore pornography and its intense and crude
representations of sexual expression.
Granted, Bettie's images were often incredibly
risque when bondage and S&M were introduced
into the scenario. While there were simple images
of spankings, paddling and girls wrestling,
there were also intricate rope and bondage situations
introduced into the mix. In a recent trip to
the Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin, I witnessed
a sampling of Bettie Page's filmed appearances
in a collection they dubbed "The Real Bettie
Page," which was exhibited in anticipation of
the release of this biopic. While many of the
shorts were simple "jiggle" dances, there were
a couple scenarios that featured intricate bondage
situations usually involving rope that hinted
at the much more complex and raunchy intentions
of her photographers. In one of the most grim
of these, Bettie is tied onto a table that could
best be described as some sort of medical equipment
complete with stirrups. The stark, industrial
look of the unadorned table seems overtly harsh
and the image is not one typically associated
with those casually acquainted with Bettie Page
"pin-up" images. Of all of the shorts that were
shown during this screening, this was the most
harrowing and most anticipatory of the coming
age of modern BD&SM pornography.
In her filmed images, whether dancing in underwear,
playing a maid who helps dress her female employer
for an elegant night out, taking a bath with
strategically placed bubbles, or becoming dominatrix
or victim in bondage scenes, Bettie always seems
happy and joyous. Her frowns or grimaces in
bondage scenes are almost always replaced by
a wink and a smile. While the co-stars of her
pictures seem either bored or contrived, Bettie
seems content and natural. Her smiling facade
always hinting to her viewer that what we are
seeing, whether torturous or demure, is simple
a tease, a put-on, almost a hoot. Bettie's knowing
smile suggest that she's in on the joke. She
knows that this is silly and harmless fun. In
this way, more than any other pornographic model,
Bettie not only brings us into the put-on, the
fiction of the scenario, but also lets us know
that out fantasies and our fetishes are really
okay and healthy. It's all good clean fun with
no place for shame or fear.
"The Notorious Bettie Page," her biopic, does
an incredible job of presenting Bettie's story,
albeit in the language of independent film.
Written and directed by Mary Harron, the film
displays the same adeptness for a period piece
that its maker exhibited on "I Shot Andy Warhol."
Harron's precise attention to physical detail
is only surpassed by her ability to tell a story.
Harron easily transports us back to a more simplistic
and innocent time yet she somehow also reflects
its underlying racism, sexism, hypocritical
morality and governmental heavy-handedness in
subtly and ingenious ways. Harron is so adept
at this that she moves seamlessly from black
and white to color images and presents the story
of Bettie Page in a way that seems familiar
and historically accurate while still maintaining
an innocence and playfulness that seems to represent
the heart of Bettie's filmed images.
Gretchen Mol portrays Bettie with just the perfect
amounts of innocence, guile, ambition and heart.
It is truly a remarkable performance and one
that should be remembered come awards time later
this year. Mol makes us fall in love with Bettie
and utterly believe her story. Considering the
scenario we are asked to believe, this is a
Herculean task that Mol makes simple work of.
Consider this: Bettie is presented as an innocent
farm girl who didn't completely understand what
she was involved in and therefore wasn't shocked
or frightened by what she did in films. That's
a tall order for any actress but Mol is up to
it and her heartwarming performance, in what
could come across as unbelievably naive or,
even worse, ridiculous, role makes this biopic
one of the best to come across the silver screen
in quite some time.
Mol's supporting cast is quite nice as well.
David Strathairn, Jared Harris, John Cullum,
Dallas Roberts, and Austin Pendelton all do
quite wonderfully in minor roles. Surely the
second star of the film here, however, after
Mol, is Lili Taylor who provides another strong
female character to balance against Bettie.
Both Mol as the model and Taylor as photographer
Paula Klaw (sister to Bettie's infamous bondage
photographer Irving Klaw) provide independent,
honest and thoughtful women who seem to understand
men in ways that seem virtually unheard of in
previous version of cinematic 50's womanhood.
Taylor's Paula seems sure, controlled calm and
smart, especially when juxtaposed against the
frightened and nervous Irving (as he is played
by Chris Bauer). We love Taylor here as much
as we do Mol. It's great to see an indie actress
of Taylor's quality so well used. Harron and
the actress seen to have a cinematic chemistry
that rivals many of their male director and
actor counterparts in film history and one hopes
they continue to work together.
For all its seeming simplicity, this is actually
a complex film that mirrors Bettie's unique
and complex career. Sure, cynics might find
Bettie's portrayal here naive and unbelievable,
especially when one sees how secure and knowing
the real Bettie Page seemed in front of the
camera, but this film isn't made for cynics.
Those of us willing to follow Harron's and Mol's
lead here will find a film that is filled with
a quaintness that oddly underscores this historical
look at the most prominent harbinger of modern
eroticism in a realistic and thought-provoking
way.
Notes:
Also with Max Casella. Shelly Mars plays a male
photographer in what is the most noticeably
ridiculous moment in the film.
Some of Bettie's short films are recreated here
with Mol and other members of the cast in what
seems to be almost shot-for-shot accuracy.
Christine Vachon is one of the producers.
Filmed in both New York and Miami with lots
of stock footage and street scenes from movie
archives acting as establishing shots and connecting
tissue in the film. Mott Hupfel's cinematography
is nearly flawless in matching these scenes.
The film debuted at Toronto in September 2005.
The US premiere was at SXSW in March of 2006.
Picturehouse began a US arthouse run in April
of 2005.
Viewed in April of 2005 in the Art Deco room
of the Dobie Theater.
Report Card
Script: A+
Acting:
A+
Cinematography\Lighting:
A+
Special Effects\Make Up: A+
Music:
A
Final
Grade: A+
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