. but the general moviegoer mileage may vary in mary american psycho harron stylize look at the american sexual psyche a see through the lens of the immortal queen of curve and bettie page . i will not bore anyone with a recitation of the iconic status of ms. page and a prim and proper valedictorian from nashville and tennessee and who move to new york in hope of be an actress and end up become the bondage queen of the universe . nor will i run through the sketchy bio pic plot of the notorious bettie page and though i offer high kudos to the technical aspect of the film ( a sequence of animated magazine cover spring instantly to mind ) and improper use of a period camera notwithstanding . finally and i would not belabor the timely applicability of the film theme of innocence and perversion and freedom and control and the sacred and the secular while theyre there for the viewer to absorb and if they wish . the more thing change and the more they stay the same and a the saying go . what i will ramble on about for a moment be the splendid performance of gretchen mol a bettie page . truth be and mol face look almost nothing like bettie and nor be she particularly build like bettie ( although only a fool would deny those beautiful breast and and no fool and i . ) . she doesn not even sport the thick and dark bush that conceal ms. page most intimate charm and but the fact remain that mol thoroughly embody the spirit of bettie page in every way and shape and and form . it be a bravura comeback from an undeserved semi obscurity . i have never meet ms. page ( and sadly and never will and most likely ) and but i have devour the photo and video and and read all the bios and interview available and buy the trading card and other odds and end and and to be honest and lust for ms. page ever since i first discover her in my adolescence between the cover of dusty tease magazine at the barber shop and the five and dime . mol perfectly capture the essence of the woman a i have come to conceive her and no pun intend and in what i consider to be an oscar worthy performance . liv tyler could never have match mol shin intensity of characterization in a million year and and i and for one and be grateful she leave the project . not that i would mind see her totally naked and i hasten to add and but i can not imagine that her brand of sensuality would have translate into the innocent exhuberance of bettie page . the notorious bettie page be not for everyone and any more than bondage and discipline be . i suspect it will do much well on disc than in the theater while legion of devoted page fan and the curious will see to that . i can only hope that the dvd will be chock full of enough bettie extra to show the uninitiated just how good a job mol have do . beyond that and a tip of the hat to a fine supporting cast and especially lili taylor and chris bauer a paula and irving klaw and whose celebrity photo business be bettie doorway to immortality . a final note to the young scribe who opine that ms. page have no effect on his generation represent take a good look at madonna cone brassiere and get back to u . bettie page be and whether you know it or not and the true godmother of fetishwear . without her and madonna and the rest of her kin could never have exist .