sarah paulson showing up in a mary harron film??? this film gave me my gay rights

I've said it before and I will say it again: Mary Harron hasn't directed more films WHY? I've enjoyed every single one of her films (I can't seem to find I Shot Andy Warhol anywhere). In fact she might be one of my new favorite directors. The Notorious Bettie Page was great. I really liked seeing Bettie's story, as I didn't know much about her. She was definitely an interesting person. Watching her personal conflict between her career and her morals play out fascinated me, especially given the time period in which she lived. I also really liked the feminist themes. Is it an amazing biopic? Probably not, but thematically it more than makes up for any shortcomings in that aspect.

Oh, I dunno, it didn't look particularly interesting, even when it looked at things I find particularly interesting, and it stopped short of exploring aspects of Bettie Page's life that seem to be more complicated or compelling, like how she wanted to become a missionary but had to remarry her first husband to be "allowed" to do it or how she had to fight in her later years to be paid for her image's use all over everything ever. It's an incomplete story, one that focuses on the crafting of image and the birth of iconography, but not its ultimate impact.

52 project: 62/52

Film #24 of
The Time Wasters Film Challenge
TASK #19: A film from a director's filmography that you love but have seen less then twenty percent of!

Another strong work from co-writer and director Mary Harron following I Shot Andy Warhol and American Psycho, The Notorious Bettie Page offers a stylish, well-made, intriguing look of the titular pin-up model featuring a wonderful central performance from Gretchen Mol and a compelling story that calls out the moral hypocrisy that was present during the era it takes place in.

sarah paulson in this is just breathtaking

I barely knew anything about the real Bettie Page before watching this, and upon reading her wiki page I see they left out quite a lot of significant info regarding her later life (mental illness, several marriages, legal battles over royalties, etc). But as a standalone movie I enjoyed this. It uses her story to expose the hypocrisies of censorship advocates in 1950s America, and makes sure pin-up work is never portrayed judgmentally, and she herself is never shameful of it. Gretchen Mol is excellent in the lead, exuding a kind of sexy bubbliness paired with understated intelligence, and Lili Taylor and Sarah Paulson have especially fun supporting roles as photographers who worked with Bettie (Paula Klaw and Bunny Yeager, respectively). It's also interesting how the film actively shows that for Bettie, the erotica industry offered a far safer space than the outside world ever gave her.

i actually loved this so much it was super fun!! idk why i enjoy movies about bondage in the 50s so much but i’m not going to question it :)

For such a pro-kink film, this is a surprisingly matter-of-fact telling of the life of pin-up model Bettie Page. The Gretchen Mol performance is winning and Mary Harron’s direction is sharp (the shifts from b&w to color, particularly in one scene involving magazine covers, is inspired), but the film’s curious lack of dramatic stakes and often-clinical tone made this a rather empty, if aesthetically pleasing watch.

love me a good sarah paulson cameo

Yo me pregunto, ¿cuantas pajas se habran metido los que vieron la pelicula?

This was visually satisfying, particularly enjoyed the switch between B&W to colors, the soundtrack was a blast from the past, and Gretchen was absolutely stunning in this role, perfect casting

i don’t know why most of this was shot in black and white while some of the other scenes weren’t. its a creative decision that stuck out like a sore thumb but i really enjoyed learning about this woman !!

i love bettie but this film was t r a s h

only watched this mess for sarah paulson and got 5 minutes of her.

God gave me the talent to pose for pictures and it seems to make people happy. That can't be a bad thing, can it?

So regular, maybe even less ...but this was a tv movie produced by HBO so for its standards it was ok. The story telling wasn't that thrill or interesting so at the end a very formulaic biopic movie.

However, I enjoyed seeing Gretchen Mol *v*) I mean she's so gorgeous, I remember her from 'Boardwalk Empire', she also looks way too beautiful there but on this movie, my gosh! *0*) She's even more attractive than the Bettie Page.

This was directed by Mary Harron post 'American Psycho', and it wasn't a good comeback but seen some of the actors who previously work with her on 'I Shot Andy Warhol' like Lili Taylor and Jared Harris was pretty cool!

a really interesting topic that i enjoyed seeing explored! super different than what i usually would watch

i actually loved this so much it was super fun!! idk why i enjoy movies about bondage in the 50s so much but i’m not going to question it :)

This would have been so much better if they continued the story past the 50s. There's nothing here about her nervous breakdown and assaulting her landlord that ended with a decade long stay at a psychiatric hospital. The film suggests that all the sado-maso modelling was a result of Betty's PTSD after years of sexual abuse and another unrelated attack.

In one of the scenes Sarah Paulson tells Gretchen Mol 'I believe the female form can stand on its own' when Betty takes out a racy corset, then proceeds to take topless photos of her.

it's a very interesting biopic, and the visual style is amazing (i really enjoyed the shifts from black and white to color). it may not be a great film, but i enjoyed it a lot more than i thought i would.

This will never be as good as it was when I was 18, but there's still some interesting issues and good performances at play here. It's just all wrapped up in an aimless, strangely-paced package.