Director Michael Showalter’s The Big Sick is one of my favorite films of the 2010s, so it was hard not to be excited for his upcoming film, The Eyes of Tammy Faye. While the trailer did not sell me in the slightest, the idea of Showalter, and Academy Award nominees Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield sharing the screen could not be ignored. Unfortunately, Showalter’s film doesn’t break the mold when it comes to biopics, but it does have one, if not the best performance of 2021 by Chastain as the iconic televangelist.
The film is based on a documentary of the same name and follows Tammy Faye from her earlier years, where we learn that she is the child of a broken home, which leads her and her mother to be essentially banned from the local church. As the film moves forward, Tammy meets Jim Bakker, a fellow student at North Central Bible College, and soon they marry, and the film shifts its focus from just Tammy to tracking the two from their rise to the eventual downturn and fall.
We’ve all seen televangelists on our TV over the years. Whether it was watching an old episode of I Love Lucy as a youngster and seeing commercials or switching through the channels and landing on a network with one, a televangelist has appeared on our tv screens. Whether or not we’ve questioned their legitimacy, Abe Sylvia’s screenplay shines a light on the corruption within televangelism and how these men and women gained a fortune through religion. Along with the corruption, Sylvia’s script focuses on the prominent political force these men and women had during the Reagan era. But, unfortunately, it fails to dive deeper into some of the ramifications of the political influences these folks attained.
While the supporting players are commendable, it’s all about Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain. While Garfield is labeled as the film’s antagonist, there is no denying that Garfield’s performance aims in the direction of a more comedic representation of Bakker rather than someone maliciously harming others which work for the tone of the film.
Garfield’s performance is noteworthy, but Chastain’s dedication to the role is an outstanding achievement here and maybe of the year.
In a career that has offered some great performances, including Zero Dark Thirty, A Most Violent Year, and Molly’s Game, Chastain takes it to another level in this film. One can assume by watching the trailers that this is another prosthetic performance. However, it’s not just about the hours of prosthetics and makeup that detail Tammy’s physical changes. Instead, it’s how Chastain captures the pain while still putting a smile on her face.
One of the most impressive aspects of her performance is while knowingly financially benefiting from her years as a televangelist, Chastain can bring empathy for the character in the third act. The Oscar nomination feels like a sure thing, but we need to start discussing the possibility of her winning her first Academy Award.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye is not reinventing the wheel of the biopic. Instead, it highlights the contradictions and complexity of not just Tammy Faye and all the players around her. Jessica Chastain’s performance pulls you right back in, even if the subject makes you think you are out.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye debuts in theaters on September 17, 2021.
