It is always difficult to make a remake after a good movie. It is even harder to make a remake after a very good movie. And it is almost impossible to make that remake better than the original. And when the remake is not better than the original, you wonder what was the point.

This is the case with “Sybil,” a 2008 remake after the 1976 drama. The movie, based on the successful book “Sybil” written by Flora Rheta Schreiber, describes the true story of a young woman who was physically and mentally abused by her mother and, in order to find some kind of escape, she builds not one or two but 16 personalities.

The remake is faithful to the original movie but the fact that it lasts only about 2 hours, makes it look like it is being rushed. Moreover, the director starts from the assumption that everyone has seen the 1976 drama and dives from the beginning right into the action.

We see Sybil Dorset (Tammy Blanchard) as a student at Columbia University who gets terribly upset when she drops various subjects and finds herself several times in Philadelphia, without knowing how she got there. After she tries to kill herself, she’s assigned to Dr. Cornelia Wilbur (Jessica Lange). The relationship between the doctor and the patient transforms into a friendship, giving Wilbur the possibility to gain Sybil's trust and explain the cause of her dissociative identity disorder.

The most interesting thing about the movie is Blanchard’s performance. I think that was the purpose of this remake: Blanchard’s opportunity to prove, once more, her acting skills. Lange also manages a good performance given the conditions. And, let’s not forget to mention JoBeth Williams who plays the infamous role of Sybil’s mother, being very convincing at it.

The movie is not bad, but it isn’t great either. I mean, the actors are good but that’s not enough to make a movie. Moreover, when one does a remake, it’s because one has the possibility to make it better that the original. This is not the case. The action is contracted and viewers don’t get the chance to really analyze.

Following the story we can see Wilbur struggling to make her co-workers take her seriously. Because the personality disorder was not an illness that existed in the files, no one believed her, saying that the case was another female hysteria case.

When I saw the movie, I initially thought of “When Did You Last See Your Father?” Even though Sybil is a much difficult case and was more troubled by her mother that Blake by his father, the base is the same. Parents who intentionally or unintentionally manage to negatively affect their children’ lives, leaving them with wounds that may never completely heal. Sometimes there is closure to the painful situation and sometimes there is not.

Even though “Sybil” doesn’t live up to the original movie’s expectations, it is still worth viewing even if only to see the performances of Lange and Blanchard.

“Sybil” -television movie.

Starring : Academy Award winner Jessica Lange, Emmy Award nominee Tammy Blanchard and Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominee JoBeth Williams.

Directed by Joseph Sargent.

To be aired Sunday night on CBS.