It's an intentionally plain portrait of a seemingly naughty subject. It has to be one of the tamest R-rated films of the past 3 decades. And it's also probably one of the least passionate & in-depth portraits of a person. What do we really learn about Bettie? She's religious and has no problem with exhibiting herself sexually. Bettie was nearly valedictorian of her high school and taught for a while, yet she comes across so shallow here. Why is this film so short? What inspired her decision to become an object to simply observe? I guess she represents an ironic kind of innocence. I can only imagine Mary Harron wanting to make this film for the sake of making a statement about censorship with regard to depictions of sexuality in art. That this film received an R-rating today says something [What does this film have: nudity, curse words...]. Oh, and it's also one of the least cinematic movies out there. Don't let the black-and-white photography and sporadic splashes of color fool you -
Pleasantville it isn't.
With all that said though, I found the last scene of Bettie preaching outdoors to be the saddest, most moving scene in the whole movie. Which is odd to say because she doesn't look at all unhappy about doing it.
