Putzberger
That was the closing line of the first installment of "Sybil" when it originally aired on NBC as a two-part "Big Event" special in 1976. By the time Joanne Woodward asks that question of a fetal, thumb-sucking Sally Field, you're desperate to know. Since 1976, child abuse has become a dramatic cliché, multiple personality disorder has become a discredited diagnosis, and Sally Field has become a laughingstock. All of which demonstrates the enormous impact of "Sybil," one of the best-written, best-acted movies ever made for television. Is the portrait of schizophrenia completely honest? Probably not. Does Sybil recover too quickly? Most likely. Does Dr. Wilbur, Sybil's therapist, violate scads of professional ethics in the name of curing her patient? Oh, yeah. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not supposed to tell a patient that you love them, and you're definitely not supposed to break into their abandoned childhood home to look for signs of abuse.) But if "Sybil" raises more questions than it answers, that's fine, they're brutally important questions. Our collective view of mental illness has become much more sensitive and compassionate in the last few years and I don't doubt much of that is due to the influence of "Sybil." Plus, Tears for Fears named their 1985 album "Songs from the Big Chair" as an homage to "Sybil," so you can see the kind of impact it had."Sybil" is a lightly fictionalized version of a 1973 book (itself heavily fictionalized, according to some experts) about a young woman who copes with her horrifically abusive mother by dissociating into 16 personalities. For reasons that no one understood at the time, the filmmakers cast Sally Field, the Flying Nun, as this disturbed young woman. She's brilliant. For dramatic effect, the script distills multiple breakdowns into single scenes, so Sally has to careen from mousy to charming to shrewish to infantile within the course of a few minutes. She pulls it off by playing them all as wildly exaggerated aspects of a single character, not as different characters, proving that she understood this role perfectly. Make all the jokes you want about her Oscar speeches, but Sally earned this Emmy. Joanne Woodward acquits herself well as Dr. Wilbur, A Strong, Nurturing Woman. For about a decade after "Sybil," Joanne appeared in roughly one classy made-for per year as A Strong, Nurturing Woman, and here's where she did the research. As fine as Field and Woodward are, though, the most vivid and disturbing performance is that of Martine Bartlett as Hattie, Sybil's wacko mother, whom we see in flashbacks. There's no way the movie could depict all of Hattie's bizarre behavior as described in the books -- she was physically, sexually, and verbally abusive, prone to fits of catatonia and enjoyed defecating on her neighbors' lawns. But Ms. Bartlett, with her unblinking eyes and demented half-smile, conveys all of Hattie's utter lunacy in one short Christmas scene that Sybil relives while under hypnosis. ("Lettuce head! Go to bed! Your nose is red, your name is Fred, I'll kill you dead!" Not for the squeamish -- even though we don't see Hattie kicking and hitting Sybil, we can feel it. This scene could give you nightmares.) There are other significant differences from the book -- the movie Sybil is a bit more outgoing than the woman described on paper, plus, there's a budding romance with a widowed father that the book never mentions -- but these are minor quibbles, the movie can be appreciated on its own merits.Lots of very reputable clinicians have tried to discredit Cornelia Wilbur, and I can't imagine any modern student of psychology or psychiatry watching this movie without pointing out its flaws. But "Sybil" will stand the test of time thanks to its excellent acting and its devastating depiction of child abuse. Please note: people have claimed that Wilbur was a fraud or that her methodology was flawed, but no one has ever disputed that the real-life Hattie Dorsett was abusive towards her daughter.
indy_go_blue44
I read the book Sybil and saw the movie for the first time in 1976 as a student nurse. I've read the book probably three times and am watching the newly released DVD as I write. I don't find it hard to believe I am still so powerfully affected I am by this movie. Between this movie and Norma Rae, Ms Field was at the height of her career. Her performance is beyond believable. Joanne Woodward's character, Dr. Wilbur, I think is almost too perfect but still extremely affecting and sympathetic as Dr. Wilbur. Although the character of Richard Loomis is added for dramatic effect, the late (and wonderful) Brad Davis' performance as the caring neighbor and love interest is also quite moving. Sadly his death in 1991 took from us a very good actor. Sybil is drawing the green chicken now, her mother looking on and now going psychotic. It wasn't possible for me to see her insanity when I saw this the first time, but I can feel a little more sympathetic to her now (up from zero to one, maybe). As a drama this is also a superb show. We know from the opening scenes that something is terribly wrong, and the story slowly unfolds as more and more of Sybil's history is told until the final healing scene, which I do feel is a bit melodramatic but does nicely wrap up in 4 hours what actually took many more years to accomplish. I have cried and I have laughed over this wonderful movie, and am grateful that it has finally been made available on DVD. 10/10
li_nda
I am so glad the film is being released later this month. I saw this film when I was much younger and have been trying to get a copy for ages. I actually taped the film when it was on TV but loaned it to a friend who never returned it....typical. The film is so moving and so well acted by all who took part. Can't wait to see it again and show my husband and daughters what I have always raved about. Sally Field plays the part of Sybil as if she were actually Sybil herself. Joanne Woodward is fantastic. I can't understand why so few people that I have spoken to don't know much about the film. Obviously, as I was only around 16 years old at the time, a lot of the film is missing in my mind but for it to stay in my head for 30 years proves what an impact it made at the time. I am sure, upon its new release, It will hit the headlines enormously. Making way for a re make. Can they find actors and actresses as good as played in the first film? We will have to wait and see !!!!!!!!!
