The Notorious Bettie Page is simultaneously excellent and frustrating. The Notorious Bettie Page never seems anachronistic and is fully committed to accurately depicting its subject and era. It is visually reminiscent of Far From Heaven. The Notorious Bettie Page is shot using the film style of the period of the scene-either in black and white or Technicolor. The Notorious Bettie Page may also be the first film to depict pornographers as likable, totally unpervy, normal people in contrast to their audience-both fans and detractors. Gretchen Mol, best known for her appearance in Boardwalk Empire as the proper prostitute and twisted mother, Gillian Carmody, brings an innocent, Edenic sexuality to her portrayal of Bettie Page. The Notorious Bettie Page seemed to be saying something about directors. When the director is a Hollywood type and is trying to exploit her for his own sexual gratification, The Notorious Bettie Page condemns it whereas when it is a male or female either trying to depict Page as herself or for the customer’s satisfaction, it remains fun and light-hearted. The Notorious Bettie Page is frustrating because I’m not sure if I really got to know Bettie Page as a human being. We see that she is eternally pleasant and likable in her interactions with everyone, that she is more comfortable naked or in her underwear than not and has a rigid set of values that can’t be breached, but we mostly stay on the surface of her character. One sinister scene early in The Notorious Bettie Page colored my view of every subsequent scene-I felt like there was constant danger surrounding her, but it never struck again. I was astonished that after that scene, Page was still able to joyfully engage in new experiences and trust new people without a hint of wariness. Did the filmmakers intend to do that? Maybe. No idea. I immediately watch Bettie Page Reveals All, a documentary, in which it derided The Notorious Bettie Page as all lies, but if anything, the movie seemed to be flattering and skipped over the harsher parts of her life. The Notorious Bettie Page is not a must see, but it is mostly enjoyable to watch a movie which successfully contrasts consensual, enthusiastic sexuality with the evils of nonconsensual exploitation, stigma of sex and sexual violence.