A biopic based on the life of burlesque queen and icon Bettie Page, The Notorious mirrors the lady in question by being rather appealing on a superficial level but containing little of any real substance. The script skips over the abuse and indignities of her early life in a way that almost seems dismissive, concentrating instead on parading the appropriately earthy beauty of Gretchen Mol around in various states of undress. There is little in the way of conflict or drama to the story and as such is really an exercise in eye candy; it's attractively shot in noir-esque black and white, occasionally switching to aping the garish technocolor of the time (although I couldn't help wishing that they'd just picked one and stuck with it) and features some attractive costume design. It's also comp... |
Rating of
2/4 |
