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SYBIL
This is the famous, multi-Emmy award winning 1976 TV production starring Sally Field as Sybil, a real woman possessed by 16 different personalities. SYBIL remains a superbly acted, one-of-a-kind achievement that has yet to be surpassed as the definitive cinematic treatment on multiple personality disorder. One thing, though: the version under review here is the ORIGINAL 2-part 198-minute cut, NOT the severely condensed 122-minute abomination that was released on video.
The Package
SYBIL started life as a 1974 bestseller by Flora Rheta Schreiber, an
absorbing account of the pseudonymous Sybil’s struggles with multiple
personality disorder and the 11-year psychiatric treatment that helped to
integrate her sixteen personalities into one. The book’s authenticity has been
called into question in recent years, but the real “Sybil,” the late Shirley
Ardell Mason, insisted up to her death in 1998 that “every word” was true.
In any event, I’d probably like the movie adaptation better if it were more
faithful to Schreiber’s account. Primary among my complaints is the final
integration of Sybil’s many selves, in the book a long, painstaking,
setback-filled process that the movie compresses into a single afternoon in a
park!
That said, I can’t deny its power; I don’t think it’s
much of a stretch to call this the finest TV movie I’ve seen, and probably the
best possible interpretation of this material (for an example of how not
to tell this type of story, see the laughable Shelly Long vehicle
VOICES
WITHIN). In some ways it even improves on the book, most notably in the
performances of Joanne Woodward as Sybil’s committed shrink and Brad Davis as
her confused boyfriend; in contrast to their literary counterparts, who came off
as little more than personality-free ciphers orbiting around Sybil, both actors
create fully-rounded, compelling characters. Martine Bartlett also deserves
credit for her unforgettable, blood-curdling portrayal of Sybil’s twisted
mother.
That leaves Sally Field as Sybil. This is almost certainly the best work
she’s ever done; her frequent changes in character, from the mousy Sybil to the
more refined Vicky, the assertive Mary Lou or little-girl Sybil Ann, are totally
convincing. What’s more, Field, despite her second billing, carries this 3-hour
plus project easily. Interestingly enough, her next role was in SMOKEY AND THE
BANDIT.
The Story
Sybil is a severely disturbed college student living in New York City.
After a “blackout” suffered in a park one day, after which she finds herself
standing knee deep in a lake, she decides to seek help from Dr. Cornelia Wilbur,
a committed psychiatrist. Ms. Wilbur initially doesn’t notice anything
seriously amiss, but as her patient’s behavior grows more bizarre, it gradually
dawns on her that Sybil suffers from multiple personality disorder brought on by
childhood abuse. This abuse was apparently so horrific that none of Sybil’s
personalities will divulge what it was. It takes hypnosis to penetrate Sybil’s
defenses, revealing a schizophrenic mother who devised sadistic “games” for her
daughter, ranging from tripping young Sybil as she ascended the stairs to
shutting her in a box for days on end.
But a final horror remains, one so ugly Sybil still refuses to divulge it
(this is, incidentally, quite different from the book, where the details of
Sybil’s childhood abuse were all explained and dispensed with midway through the
narrative). The revelation of this final trauma, the doctor believes, will
allow Sybil to at last confront her various selves and enfold them into a single
personality. It takes a trip to a secluded park to finally break down Sybil’s
defenses. Here she at last confronts the most grievous of her many childhood
tortures: a daily routine administered by her mother that involved sharp objects
and an enema bag. This revelation frees her, and at last Sybil is able to meet
each of her personalities and combine them into one.
The Direction
Director Daniel Petrie, a seasoned veteran, does an effective job conveying
Sybil’s fractured mental state. A surreal room is often presented where each of
her personalities reside, waiting for their chance to take control of the host
body. Far more effective in my view are the early scenes conveying Sybil’s
“blackouts”: she’ll be asked a question in Dr. Wilbur’s office and then respond
a second later in a completely different setting. While much of the film’s
latter half is held together by Woodward’s narration, there is none to be had in
these early scenes, lending the proceedings a near avant-garde feel.
The heart of the film is taken up with the intense, often violent
psychiatric sessions between Sybil and Dr. Wilbur, and Petrie’s smartest move
here was to simply stay out of the way of his two lead actresses. I also
appreciated the discretion Petrie demonstrates in presenting the violence of
Sybil’s childhood flashbacks; he doles out just enough visual information to
convey the bare essentials of Sybil’s tortures, which in this case is more than
enough!
Vital Statistics
SYBIL
Lorimar Productions
Director: Daniel Petrie
Producer: Jacqueline Babbin
Screenplay: Stewart Stern
(Based on the book by Flora Rheta Schreiber)
Cinematography: Mario Tosi
Editing: Michael S. McLean, Rita Roland
Cast: Sally Field, Joanne Woodward, Brad Davis, Martine Bartlett, Jane Hoffman,
Charles Lane, Jessamine Milner, William Prince, Penelope Allen, Camila Ashland,
Tommy Crebbs, Gina Petrushka, Harold Pruett