Disliked This Version

I really agree with you. I just watched this remake last night. I read the book and saw the "Sally Field version" years ago. I was very impressed with how that was done. This remake was terrible because it did seem issues were just touched upon and crammed into the 2 hr version. It was ashame too because I think that Tammy Blanchard did very well with what she had to work with. This subject matter, in my opinion, does not do well if it is as rushed as it this remake was. Hattie was an important character because it was the source of Sybil's problems. In this remake, we only saw her in flasbacks. Her character was poorly done. They should not have even bothered to remake this movie in this manner.


"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Unfortunately, I didn't know it was being broadcast until it was already well into the film. I tuned in just in time for the scene in which Hattie Dorset, in a flashback, deliberately squats on a neighbor's grounds, and recognized the incident from the book. I remembered noticing on IMDB that a remake of this curious story had been planned, and so I watched the remainder of the film, and all the tiresome commercial interruptions. And then, of course, not realizing that Lifetime was going to broadcast it again for the West Coast, I didn't tune in in time to see it all from the beginning!

However, even from what I saw, I could see that the screenplay is somewhat inferior. I think the biggest problem is that I don't believe Jessica Lange is a psychiatrist--and I did believe Joanne Woodward was, even though, in neither version do the parts really give the actress any help creating this illusion.

It took me a while to remember where I'd seen Tammy Blanchard before, and finally, I got it: it was in a television episode of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," in an episode entitled "Tomorrow," featuring two sisters named Sarah and Hannah (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629594/). She's a very beautiful and obviously versatile actress, although naturally, Sally Field's creation of the role has clearly influenced her portrayal of all the various "personalities," and I suppose it's the observation of this acting tour-de-force, with the rapid changes among the "personalities," in which most of the enjoyment of watching this version resides.

And that's a pity, because even though it's a somewhat trashy, tabloid sort of story, Sally Fields and Joanne Woodward managed to develop some extraordinarily touching and emotional scenes in the original movie...whereas this version is pretty much centered on the sensationalism of the story.

Anyway, after seeing the "bits and pieces" I did manage to catch, I didn't get the feeling I had missed out on that much. I'm not really sure it's worth putting up with the commercial interruptions to sit through this version...and if you were only to see ONE of the versions, you're certainly better off with the earlier one.

Agreed. Something about it just didn't "take" for me. Plus, it seemed like Tammy Blanchard was channeling Sally Field more than Sybil. She seemed more to be mimicking Sally Field's performance rather than making a new "Sybil" all her own.