The Three Faces of Eve Movie Review

The Three Faces of Eve (1957)

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Written by: Nunnally Johnson (screenplay), Corbett Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley (book)
Directed by: Nunnally Johnson
Starring: Joanne Woodward, David Wayne, Lee J. Cobb
Rated: Approved
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Plot
A doctor treats a woman suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Verdict
This would have been more fascinating upon release. Now movies have turned the disorder into a trope, leveraging it for entertainment. In this films, it's a new and unfamiliar idea. Eve doesn't know what's happening. She's scared, looking for answers from a doctor that's wondering if she has a diagnosis that's rarely seen. They're both searching for answers. Is their a cure, a way to provide Eve with peace?
It depends.

Review
Joanne Woodward won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and rightfully so. A brief introductory scene tells us this movie isn't based on or inspired by a story. This is the story with no embellishment. Dissociative personality disorder is something very few doctors are ever able to observe.

Eve (Joanne Woodward) recounts a disturbing event where she lost time, unaware that hours had passed or what happened. In one instance in this state she attacked her child, but she doesn't remember it. It's easy to believe that's true based on what we're told.

Joanne Woodward plays Eve (White)

She's afraid she's losing her mind, but the doctor tells her the fact she's aware of a voice in her head and afraid of it, is proof she hasn't lost her senses. When the doctor sees it happening, the woman we've known as Eve White transform into Eve Black, he's stunned. He's only read of a condition like this, hesitant to diagnose it as what was known then as multiple personality disorder. While that's what the movie calls her condition, it's since been classified as dissociative identity disorder. Eve is placed in a hospital for observation as the doctor isn't sure how to treat her.

Eve White is timid and unhappy. Eve Black is free spirited, always up for dancing. As she states it, she's not the one that married Eve White's husband. They're complete opposites which is part of the fascination. Eve's husband isn't much help, dismissing everything despite what the doctor has told him. Eve is left to suffer, living two lives and never quite sure of what's going on. She has to deal with the consequences on both ends.

Joanne Woodward plays Eve (Black)

Eve is afraid to be around her daughter, concerned at what she might do. Her husband leaves, not that he's much of a loss. In those days husbands did provide financial stability as Eve didn't work. The doctor wonders if there's a root cause to Eve's condition. As he tries to understand what's happening, he's introduced to a third personality. Ultimately Eve has to confront her past to resolve her future.

I'm sure this had a bigger impact upon release when the condition was lesser known. Now it's become a trope used in several movies including Fight Club (1999), The Dark Knight (2008), Primal Fear (1996), and Split (2016). This movie is one of the earliest examples and certainly the most prominent.