An intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall, and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker.
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” produced by and starring Jessica Chastain, is a biopic of the infamous Baker couple and their Christian empire. Jimmy and Tammy Baker were well known for their TV appearances preaching the word of God. Their tenure came to a screeching halt when Jimmy got caught in many scandals, including fraud and sexual misconduct.
Chastain was inspired to create this film after seeing the documentary of the same name. She was intrigued by Tammy’s story and decided to make it into a movie, and she has been working on it for almost a decade. Chastain was phenomenal in this role. She disappeared into the character, and I no longer saw the A-list actress, only Tammy Faye. The prosthetics and make-up were spot-on, but it would have been nothing without Chastain’s voice acting and mannerisms.
Andrew Garfield played Tammy Faye’s husband, Jimmy Baker, who was at the center of the various scandals. Garfield was enjoyable to watch, with him changing from his British accent to a southern drawl. The best part about his acting was watching how the chemistry between Tammy and Jimmy slowly diminished throughout their long relationship. They were so in love in the beginning and towards the end, all Jimmy cared about was business and money.
The movie itself is well-paced, and I was utterly engaged in the story. However, the one problem I had was that it didn’t dive deep enough into the scandals. I would have loved to know more about how it affected Tammy’s life and the audience’s perception of the church life moving forward. They focused more on how Tammy got her fame. If you want to know more about the fall of the Bakers, you will have to do more research on your own.
I don’t see myself watching this movie again, but I do enjoy watching biopics. If you were there to witness the sweet Betty Boop character Tammy Faye or love Jessica Chastain, I recommend this movie to you.
In Theaters Friday, September 17th
