At times, the film definitely suffers from the more surface level approach Haron and Turner have taken. When Bettie goes to work for a sister and brother (Lily Taylor and Chris Bauer; both very good) who specialize in more "specialized" photos and films, it leads to the most fetishistic photos of her career, including the bondage series. Haron and Mol do a great job of showing that Bettie never takes these photo shoots seriously, and seems to always do it with a smile on her face and on the verge of cracking up. However, when Bettie, who dreams of being an actress, defends the photos as just a form of playing dress up and acts like she doesn't really understand how certain men are enticed by the pictures, it's impossible to tell whether we're meant to think she truly doesn't understand or is simply in denial, as we haven't really learned enough to be sure. Also, certain characters are far too sketchy, particularly a boyfriend (Jonathan Woodward) who is with her through most of her famous days, yet is never really fleshed out.
Yet despite these problems, Haron has made a very appealing film. The look of The Notorious Bettie Page is great, with most of the picture shot in black and white to evoke the feeling of a 1950's era film. While likely also a result of budgetary issues, the black and white also allows for a lot of stock footage from the era to be inserted without feeling jarring or silly. There are also a handful of scenes shot in color, as Bettie makes several trips to Florida, where she meets photographer Bunny Yeager (Sarah Paulson), who would take some of Bettie's most famous photos, including her Playboy pictorial. These sequences are in a vibrant Technicolor that also seems fitting and help accentuate how much Mol resembles Page during the photo sequences.
Beyond the physical resemblance the filmmakers managed to give her (the actress has traded in her usual short, blond locks for Bettie's long, black mane), Mol gives a truly breakout performance here. Several years ago, Mol was labeled as the next "it girl" by Hollywood, and it was one of those calculated moves by studios and publicists that sometimes backfire, as it did in her case. After appearing on the cover of Vanity Fair, and a couple of unsuccessful films such as Rounders, Mol seemed to quickly become a never-was in terms of success. But with the hype machine long gone, she gives a wonderful performance as Bettie Page, which should go a long way to revitalizing her career. It's easy to feel a sense of joy watching Mol in the film, thanks not only to her great performance, but in knowing that finally, Mol is able to really prove herself on her own. She's often required to fill in some of the blanks in the script, and does so with gusto, conveying the mixture of intelligence, sexiness, innocence and --in a surprise to some no doubt-- religious beliefs that Bettie Page managed to carry within her all at once, and she does it beautifully.
3.5 out of 5 Stars, 7/10 Score