Saw this at the Toronto film festival (popular movie, as it was directed by a Canadian). I was disappointed at how it chose to skim over it's main character's motivation in making the controversial fetish and bondage photos and movies that led to her notoriety. It simply wasn't believable that Bettie Page was so galactically stupid that she wasn't aware that her work was targeted toward sexual gratification of fetishists, but was simply "dressing up in costumes and having fun". Her constant surprise at being objectified by weirdos really struck a false note with me; also, her intense religious upbringing and mental instability were glossed over or ignored. Gretchen Mol certainly looked the part; however, it doesn't really take a good actress to portray a bad actress.
Review of The Notorious Bettie Page
