For the average viewer, this will be a highly entertaining film. Joanne Woodward's performance is extremely colorful and entertaining--she really did a good job in portraying the 3 personalities! However, the sad problem with the film is that so much of the movie just isn't true or sound psychologically--at least according to the average psychotherapist. This is actually a pretty controversial topic among some therapists today. Many (and probably the vast majority) therapists now believe that these multiple personalities are, in fact, not a real manifestation of underlying parallel personalities but are unintentionally created by the therapists themselves or are created by the patient due to all the exposure MPD has in the media (such as after the film SYBIL appeared on TV). For example, IF the therapist believes that multiple personalities exist, they tend to find that MANY of the patients who come to them have MPD--while those who don't believe in its existence do not see people with these traits. In addition, many cases (especially the more famous "Sybil") have actually been debunked as frauds.
PS--In response to OTHER postings on IMDb, schizophrenia and multiple personality disorders are NOT the same. Even among therapists who believe MPD exists, there is universal agreement among professionals that MPD and schizophrenia are not at all the same. The DSM (the therapists' bible for diagnosing mental illnesses) lists them as separate disorders with very different symptoms. They are VERY different and are treated VERY differently. This movie was NOT about schizophrenia. I use the movie myself in my psychology class as it is a wonderful introduction into this controversy. Great entertainment but "fact"? I am skeptical.
PPS--In response to one posting advising others to IGNORE another posting because it is WRONG. I would NEVER want to do this. Whether you believe DID/MPD exists, it is very unwise to advise others to ignore those whose opinions differ. Provided you have an informed opinion (like the 2 in question), it's nice to hear the controversy. I want people to be aware there is a lot of disagreement--don't believe any one posting is definitively right just because they say so!
PS--In response to OTHER postings on IMDb, schizophrenia and multiple personality disorders are NOT the same. Even among therapists who believe MPD exists, there is universal agreement among professionals that MPD and schizophrenia are not at all the same. The DSM (the therapists' bible for diagnosing mental illnesses) lists them as separate disorders with very different symptoms. They are VERY different and are treated VERY differently. This movie was NOT about schizophrenia. I use the movie myself in my psychology class as it is a wonderful introduction into this controversy. Great entertainment but "fact"? I am skeptical.
PPS--In response to one posting advising others to IGNORE another posting because it is WRONG. I would NEVER want to do this. Whether you believe DID/MPD exists, it is very unwise to advise others to ignore those whose opinions differ. Provided you have an informed opinion (like the 2 in question), it's nice to hear the controversy. I want people to be aware there is a lot of disagreement--don't believe any one posting is definitively right just because they say so!