Las tres caras de Eva

I suppose the one thing Eve White could never be accused of, in the 1957 movie "The Three Faces of Eve," is not having enough of a personality! In fact--to the consternation of her dullard Georgian husband, and the amazement of shrink Lee J. Cobb--she's got three distinct personalities that tend to emerge quite unexpectedly. The first is Eve White herself, a mousy dishrag of a housewife; then there's "Eve Black," an extroverted, hard-drinking party girl; and finally "Jane," a nice, well-spoken young woman. As portrayed by Joanne Woodward in her Oscar-winning role, this mixed-up gal becomes a very believable and sympathetic figure. Woodward is actually pretty amazing here, and it is quite remarkable how she is able to switch on a dime from one personality to another, using all the actor's tricks of mannerisms, voice inflections, accents and so on. Cobb is also excellent, as usual, as the soft-spoken, patient doctor who tries for years to help her, and David Wayne is also fine as Eve's husband, who, in one fascinating scene, seems to cheat on his wife WITH HIS OWN WIFE! The psychological explanation of why Eve has become what she is may strike some as too pat, but we shouldn't forget that this is all based on a real-life case history. However, as Danny Peary reminds us in his fun book "Alternate Oscars," the real-life Eve had not been cured at the time this film was made, but rather required 17 years' worth of additional therapy, during which time a full 22 personalities came forth! But I guess that would have made for a very depressing 10-hour movie! And I wholeheartedly agree with Peary that Woodward deserved an Oscar for her work here. Heck, under the circumstances, they should've given her three!

In 1951, in Georgia, the submissive housewife and mother Eve White (Joanne Woodward) is brought by her husband Ralph White (David Wayne) to a consultation with Doctor Curtis Luther (Lee J. Cobb) since she has painful headaches followed by blackouts with no recollections of what she did. The rude Ralph tells that she bought expensive clothing and hurt their daughter Bonnie during one of these blackouts. Dr. Luther begins her therapy and soon Eve shows a new personality, the reckless and wild Eve Black that hates Ralph and loves to drink and dance with other men, and Dr. Luther diagnoses a case of multiple personality to his colleague Doctor Francis Day (Edwin Jerome).

Ralph moves with Bonnie to Jacksonville and Eve continues her treatment. She tells that she is hearing voices, and Dr. Luther uses hypnosis to disclose more about her trauma. Out of the blue, a third personality emerges and tells that she is Jane that shows that is a balanced personality. Dr. Luther questions which personality should be the predominant.

"The Three Faces of Eve" is based on a true story and based on a book written by two medical doctors about a case of multiple personality in Georgia. I do not know the impact of Nunnally Johnson's movie in 1957 since it is dated in the present days. But it is still a good docudrama, especially because of the magnificent performance of Joanne Woodward in the role of three different women. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "As Três Máscaras de Eva" ("The Three Masks of Eve")

Joanne Woodward is simply amazing as a woman who suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder. She is very believable, and is fantastic in all three personalities, Eve White/Eve Black/Jane. Lee J Cobb is also great as the doctor who treats her. In my opinion one of the greatest "Best Actress Academy Award" winning performances that I have watched. She deserves all the critical acclaim and awards that she won. 10 out of 10.

I read Paul Newman's biography this summer. And early in the book, they mentioned the 3 faces of Eve and the Oscar Mrs Woodward won for her portray of the personality troubled character. From that moment, I wanted to see the movie. I have watched it lately and I must admit this is one of the best movie I have seen so far. She was capable to play three different characters and at the same time understand the subtlety of this disease (as I happen to study mental diseases). The ensemble has a good rhythm. The other characters are good and take just the necessary room without trying to impose. I enjoyed the tension that rises as we approach the end of the movie. There is no bloodshed yet it is quite terrifying. I recommend this feature to any movie lover.

Joanne Woodward was wonderful in this movie. She really showed the confusion and hardship surrounding multiple personality disorder. Years later, however, I found a book called, "I'm Eve". It was the autobiography of Chris Sizemore, the person the movie is based on. If you would like the continuation of this story, and there is a lot more, then this book is a must read.