I saw this film at the Toronto Film Festival last September, and I'm a little mixed about it. I think Mary Harron is a talented filmmaker, Lili Taylor is always superb, and Gretchen Mol acquited herself quite nicely. Bettie Page led a pretty fascinating life when you think about it, so why is this film somewhat lacking? Here's the review I wrote after seeing it last year.

"In theory, the life of Bettie Page seems like a perfect basis for a biopic. A young girl growing up in the 40's and 50's, Page travels from Nashville to New York to pursue her dreams of acting. She instead gets involved in nude modelling and becomes a famous pin-up girl, only to turn her back on her unique success in 1958 when she discovers religion and disappears from the public eye. While Harron's film is well-made and interesting, there is little dramatic arc to Page's life and her story is ultimately rather flat on the big screen. Gretchen Mol does a good job as the open-faced and in many ways innocent Bettie Page, and Lili Taylor is terrific as one of Page's photographers. Ultimately there isn't much to say in THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE. Harron sticks to the facts as they are known. Even the Senate hearings investigating pornography seem unthreatening. The film certainly captures a strange innocence and joie de vivre in Page's life, and it is enjoyable experience, but it certainly left me wanting more. 3 cats."

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