Bettie Page's image is unmistakable. Fifty years after the height of her modeling career — which included both cheesecake and racy-for-the-time bondage poses — she remains an icon for glamorous rebels. But as the often confused spelling of her name suggests (for the record, it's "Bettie," but she's often credited in her films as "Betty"), Page had two sides: the saucy temptress captured by the cameras, but also a wholesome girl, devoted to Jesus and — though intelligent — possessed of a gee-whiz spirit that allowed her to endure, say, being tied up and ball-gagged with breezy nonchalance.

The Notorious Bettie Page, directed with unconventional biopic style by Mary Harron (American Psycho), seizes upon this duality, tracing Page's pinup reign by pointedly switching between black-and-white and color film. The movie begins at the anti-smut Senate hearings that encouraged Page (Gretchen Mol) to leave showbiz, then backtracks to fill in crucial moments of her Southern girlhood (to sum up: Men are dogs).

The real Page — 83 on April 22 — has avoided the spotlight since the late 1950s; postmodeling, she navigated a troubled patch that included a stint in a mental hospital. Bettie Page doesn't touch on these years, instead ending as Page cements her relationship with God (while remaining ever proud of her exhibitionist past). Without her participation, the film doesn't really fill in any of Page's emotional blanks; the end result, while entertaining, tends to favor re-creation over insight.

No stranger to the burden of an image, star Mol once appeared on a 1998 Vanity Fair cover that asked, "Is She Hollywood's Next 'It' Girl?" Her career has included two Woody Allen gigs and Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things, but Bettie Page is her first true breakout role. Her by turns bouncy and wistful performance suggests it was worth the wait. On a recent visit to San Francisco, Mol shared her thoughts on Page.

SFBG What drew you to Bettie Page's story?

GRETCHEN MOL I had seen an E! True Hollywood Story on her. At the end, she spoke — she was blacked out — and her voice didn't quite match up with the images I had seen. Here was this exuberant, spirited woman, and then the voice had a melancholic sound. That dichotomy was something that struck me, and I kept finding it over and over again. I think it was very apparent in the script that [director ...