Review: The Eyes of Tammy Faye

The story of glitzy TV evangelist couple Jim (Andrew Garfield) and Tammy Faye Bakker (Jessica Chastain) who rode on a lucrative high with their TV ministry before Jim’s scandals with rape lawsuits and fraud saw their empire come crashing down, as well as their marriage. Meanwhile, Tammy’s progressive streak also seemed to rankle the more conservative religious types like Jerry Falwell (Vincent D’Onofrio).

 

Fairly persuasive, if slightly narrow-focussed 2021 biopic from director Michael Showalter (“The Big Sick”) and screenwriter Abe Sylvia (who wrote and directed a few episodes of “Nurse Jackie”). Based on a 2000 documentary by the same name, it offers a terrific showcase for an Oscar-winning Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker. She doesn’t look naturally like Tammy Faye, but the excellent makeup job helps seal the deal, and Chastain does the rest with a terrific acting job. She leans in just far enough into a squeaky vocal impersonation without it being a hollow act. Her Tammy Faye Bakker is a full-on characterisation. It could’ve easily been cartoony, people have been impersonating and lampooning the poor woman for years, this film gives us the person, and a little dignity and depth.

 

As the title suggests, we’re basically seeing things from Tammy’s POV and that has plusses and minuses in my view. It never quite comes across as totally glorifying Tammy the way “I, Tonya” (a film I couldn’t help comparing it to at times) did to play into the #MeToo era – and pissed me off royally in doing so –but I don’t think she’s quite as naïve as the film portrays her to be, either. She may not have been as criminal and dishonest as Jim (or Tonya Harding), but I think there was always a bit of plausible deniability there with her – at best. So the film does walk that tightrope a little shakily at times, though it’s true that Tammy was one of the more progressive and open-hearted evangelicals (Kinda like the Dolly Parton of evangelicals in that sense) and her story is much more palatable for what “I, Tonya” tried and failed at.

 

Also, with the film focussing so much on Tammy, it doesn’t leave much for Andrew Garfield’s Jim Bakker, and frankly the actor just isn’t that impressive in the role anyway. He’s not terribly persuasive or interesting, in fact at times he’s downright flat. Look at the scene where Jim talks about nearly killing a kid, Garfield is entirely without emotion, and whilst Jim was a carny, I don’t think emotionless was the intention there. Garfield just didn’t bring it. Neither did the script though, I don’t think there’s a clear definition of who or what they wanted Jim to be here. While he’s only about 5 years younger than Chastain, Garfield looks very much younger (Tammy and Jim were only about two years apart in age). It’s noticeable and awkward. So that’s a shame and it does all add up to making the film a bit lesser than it could’ve. I also wasn’t entirely sold on Vincent D’Onofrio as the infamous Jerry Falwell. He neither looks nor sounds like the man, though he does get the humourless quality of the man at least. On the plus side Cherry Jones is immediately perfect as Tammy’s rather tough, religious mother who doesn’t approve of the kind of religion Tammy and Jim are peddling. It’s one of the veteran character actor’s best turns. The film also benefits from a good sense of humour. Fraud isn’t funny, but these charlatans are frankly laughable at times and the film has one of the funnier ‘my water just broke!’ scenes you’ll ever see.

 

Although it never quite crosses over into excusing or outright championing the darker side to Tammy Faye Bakker, this biopic does walk a pretty damn thin tightrope. Ultimately it’s a successful walk and a pretty fun film actually, and unlike Tonya Harding, I don’t think Tammy Faye Bakker really meant anyone any harm whatsoever. She was a well-meaning sort, whatever misdeeds she may or may not have had knowledge of, and you end up feeling for her and her sometimes sad story. Jessica Chastain and Cherry Jones are terrific, Andrew Garfield bland and unmemorable as the less well-defined Jim Bakker. Still pretty solid filmmaking in the end.

 

Rating: B-