SXSW2006–The Notorious Bettie Page/Americanese

THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE After hearing about her trials with the MPAA over American Psycho in This Film Is Not Yet Rated, it’s only fitting that I should check out Mary Harron’s new film. It’s bound to have some scandalous material in it, right?

Well, if it had been made in the 50s, maybe it would have been scandalous. She apparently didn’t have any problems with the MPAA this time. You see, full frontal female nudity is no big deal—sometimes. As long as the woman isn’t having an orgasm. Or something.

Anyway, enough bashing of the MPAA. Let’s get to the movie.

Most people know who Bettie Page was, but just in case you don’t, here goes. Bettie Page was one of the first great pin-ups. She was definitely the first well-known S&M pin-ups. She was demonized by the government, told that she was evil by the church and looked at behind locked doors by just about every man over the age of 12 all throughout the 50s. Then, just as suddenly, she disappeared into religious work. She is still alive and lives a secluded life in a location that she wants to remain a secret. After all, who wants to see Bettie Page old and fat? (Her words! Not mine!! Don’t hit!)

Mary Harron’s film is based on the first and more scandalous part of Bettie’s life. It follows her from her meager upbringing in rural Tennessee (is there any other part of Tennessee?), through her bondage pics and more “normal” modeling career, through her failed attempts at an acting career and, finally, to her decision to live for God.

Strangely, nothing is said of her later mental illness or her attempts to stab people. Maybe Harron wanted us to leave the theatre with a good impression of our favorite pin-up. But she also kind of glosses over some of her victimization. No, she was never a victim of any of the photographers. That, as far as she was concerned, was just dress up. It was pure fun and never meant for anything but pleasure. (As it should be.) But she was a victim of rape early in her life. And there’s a hint that she might have been a victim of incest…but someone pretty much had to point that out to me. I don’t know if I was tired or if it was just that well hidden. But it was a big factor in her life, so it’s a shame that it wasn’t really talked about in the film.

Gretchen Mol was very good, even if her body isn’t exactly Bettie-shaped. Bettie was a very voluptuous woman. Gretchen is extremely hot, but in a more modern, skinny way. Her face, however, is dead on. And she managed to keep the innocence that a girl of that age had, but still be in some very provocative S&M pictures.

A few people were bugged by the constant shift from black and white to color, but that didn’t bother me at all. I actually really liked that New York was shot in drab, grainy b&w and Miami in bright, vibrant color. It not only imitated the pictures that were taken of her in those cities, but it showed her outlook on life in the two cities. Everything just seems happier in Miami.

Not a great film, but certainly a good one. Maybe a little bit to episodic. And some sort of Animal House sum-up would have been good. But it did bring some good questions to the screen that seemed to be a theme this year at the festival. What is smut? Why stop doing something if it’s not hurting anyone? What is immoral? And why should the government step in when people are just having fun?

AMERICANESE

A couple of years ago I saw a film called Charlotte Sometimes. I really liked it. It was a great story about Asian-Americans trying to fit in within two different societies that didn’t necessarily see them as members. But, first and foremost, it was a love triangle. The “Asian agenda” (or whatever you want to call it) was there, but only for brief periods. It was an important factor in these people’s lives, but it wasn’t over-bearing. Writer/director Eric Byler had been living with those issues all his life, so he wanted to put them on screen. He also wanted to tell a story that everyone could relate to, and he succeeded.

I seem to be one of the few people who doesn’t think he succeeded quite so well with his second venture. Americanese won an award at the festival. I thought it was good, but extremely slow with some shots that took way too long to get away from.

It’s based on the novel American Knees by Shawn Wong…which, of course, I’ve never heard of. But here’s a brief rundown.

Raymond (Chris Tashima) is a full-blooded Chinese man who recently broke up with his Amerasian girlfriend, Aurora (Allison Sie). Their main reason for the breakup seemed to be because they didn’t understand each other’s cultures. When Raymond meets a fellow teacher, Betty (Joan Chen), his world starts to turn over, but not necessarily in a good way. Betty is pretty unstable, and in some very strange ways. By Aurora is always there.

The story is great and the acting is mostly awesome. I just wish that the movie hadn’t been so slow. There were long, lingering shots that really only started me thinking about what the inside of my eyelids looked like. And Betty was just about the most annoying character in any of the films I saw at the festival this year. But that’s probably less a function of Eric’s direction than it is Wong’s writing.

Like his first film, Americanese is a love story first. But it does raise questions about what it means to be a mixed race person in today’s world. And it definitely has it’s good points. It’s certainly not a bad film. It’s just not as good as I was hoping after the promise of Charlotte Sometimes.

Of course, I could have been extremely tired. That’s always a factor at festivals.