The Three Faces of Eve

Rating:
Summary: An Actress' Dream Role
Review: Joanne Woodward gets one of those roles that most actresses must dream about - the opportunity to play a character with three distinct personalities. The film centres on this woman's attempt to regain her life with the assistance of a psychiatrist played by Lee J. Cobb. Woodward does a very good job of creating various personalities and balancing the role. I wish I knew more about multiple personalities and psychiatry to know how accurate the film is, because I found parts of it hard to believe. The way the hypnosis is presented seems to me to be far too easy and simple, and to be honest, we don't actually get to see very much of how the doctor helped the young woman. If you look to the film less as a case study and more as a piece of drama, you will find much to enjoy about it. And regardless of how factual and accurate it is, The Three Faces of Eve was an important step in presenting mental illness to the public, and for that reason also, it deserves to be seen.

Rating:
Summary: entertaining, but kind of silly
Review: Joanne Woodward was splendid to watch in this amusingly dated film about multiple personalities.

I do realize it was made in the 1950's, but I'm sure hypnosis and the switching of personalites were a little more dramatic in the time of mashed potatoes and meatloaf.

I don't want to give away anything if you haven't seen the movie, but the little secret eve/jane was harboring all of those years, that made her personality split, was a letdown. I'm unfamiliar with the actual case, but I'd love to know if there was something more shocking going on there that was considered inaapropriate for moviegoers at the time. My other qualm was the accent... why didn't the real eve/jane have a southern accent? that made no sense to me.

Overall, the film was entertaining. It just wasn't very believable.

Rating:
Summary: Groundbreaking Hollywood handling of Schizophrenia
Review: Joanne Woodward's stellar performance as a woman afflicted with multiple personality syndrome gives empathy and to victims of emotional disorders. Lee J. Cobb is equally brilliant as the man desperately seeking to help end Woodward's torment.

In nearly 50 years since production of this Classic, much advancement in Psychology and medicine in general has occured. The early days of Psychology, a field still barely explored in the 1950s, rendered countless "patients" as incurable and hopeless cases. More enlightened than the late 1800's "Nelly Blye" institutions, the mid 20th century methods still showed an element of cruelty that today could not be imagined.

"The Three Faces Of Eve", though fictional, relied in great part on evidence at hand regarding treatment methods of the mentally ill. Dated only due to the great strides made since then, this film remains a milestone in filmmaking, tackling a tabu subject in need of exposure. This is not a Saturday Night entertainer, but a serious and important film.*****

Rating:
Summary: Breaks New Ground
Review: The film is effective as an introduction into the realm of multiple personality disorder, but that's as far as it goes. Joanne Woodward is functional in the role, but I agree that it is in no way an Oscar performance. I have also witnessed multiple personality change under clinical conditions, and the person does not change in any dramatic fashion (like the lowering of the head). It's an imperceptible change at first. I read that Joanne Woodward studied film of Eve White's real life counterpart going through the change. She said there was no obvious physical punctuation whenever the other peronalities came out, and that she wanted to play it that way. According to the article, the studio wanted the lowering of the head, etc. so that the audience wouldn't become confused whenever a change occured. No faith in the public. David Wayne is superb in his role, and I feel he is underrated in the part. I've known people like his character, and he was right on the mark with his performance. His role is easy to get lost in the overall dramatic screenplay. It's a brave film that enters relative virgin territory. It held my interest.

Rating:
Summary: Joanne Woodward is incandescent in this complex role.
Review: This compelling drama centers around superb performances by Joanne Woodward and Lee J. Cobb. The unusual nature of the story is introduced and explained by (a very young!) Alistair Cooke, and that setting prepares viewers for what is to come. Because this presentation is art, not news reporting, the film may not always be exactly true to the "real story." Fine art takes purposeful liberties with reality, and this film is certainly a fine example of cinema art. Engrossing, entertaining, and enlightening! Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Unconvincing
Review: This was not a very bad movie, however an honest Hollywood mistake. Joanne Woodward gives a shaky performance unworthy of an Oscar. This motion picture looked too unreal and the plot was like a fictional comedy to me instead of a tearjerker. To this day, directors still have not learned that there are some subjects you don't make films on, like this very private matter of a woman with multiple personalities. This was my first Joanne Woodward film I've seen; winning shamefully the Academy Award for Best Actress. This film just drags on and on with no real inciteful meaning. Take it from a guy who knows a thing or two about films: DO NOT BUY THIS ONE!