TIFF Review: ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’
The Eyes of Tammy Faye veers dangerously close to becoming a cookie-cutter biopic but it is saved and elevated by the two incredible performances at its center, courtesy of Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield.
Biopics can either be saccharine and tame inspirational porn that seek to glorify their subject matter or ruthless yet thoughtful take-downs of the public figure at the center of the film that attempt to humanize them and present them in all their “glory”, flaws and all. The Eyes of Tammy Faye, a biopic about a flamboyant televangelist who built an empire out of nothing alongside her scheming husband, attempts to straddle the thin line between both of those styles, resulting in an uneven yet still incredibly fascinating portrait of an equally fascinating woman, anchored by an incredible performance from star and producer Jessica Chastain.
In the 1970s and 80s, Tammy Faye (Chastain) and her husband, Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield), rose from humble beginnings to create the world’s largest religious broadcasting network and theme park, and were revered for their message of love, acceptance and prosperity. Tammy Faye was legendary for her indelible eyelashes, her idiosyncratic singing, and her eagerness to embrace people from all walks of life. However, it wasn’t long before financial improprieties, scheming rivals, and scandal toppled their carefully constructed empire.
Tammy Faye is an incredibly fascinating figure who is either a conniving fraud or a misunderstood victim of circumstance depending on who you ask. Writer Abe Sylvia, known for his work on shows such as The Affair and Dead to Me, isn’t sure what to make of her, initially presenting her as an incredibly manipulative and performative little girl who attempted to use Christianity to escape her miserable surroundings and later on, depicting her as a well-meaning and genuine if childish scapegoat for something much larger (and more sinister) than her. Sylvia attempts to have his cake and eat it too, which unfortunately leads to an uneven, narratively messy film that isn’t sure what it wants to say about its titular character.
Thankfully, Chastain, who has been developing this project for the better half of a decade, ends up saving the day with a layered, nuanced and show-stopping performance that may in fact be the best performance of her career so far. If Sylvia may not fully understood Tammy Faye and all her complexities, Chastain undeniably does, demonstrating more of a grasp on her complexities with her facial expressions and physicality than the script does at times. Tammy Faye, who was seen as a laughing stock by some for the majority of her career and far after it ended, may have easily ended up as a caricature in another actresses’ hands but Chastain approaches her with endless care but also with caution, humanizing her but making sure to avoid victimizing her as well.
Andrew Garfield is also in top form here as Tammy Faye’s husband Jim Bakker, a charismatic showbiz version of a preacher that has more to him than initially meets the eye. Much like Chastain, Garfield has also managed to figure out what makes Bakker tick, charting through his tumultuous journey from wide-eyed young man to jaded and conniving businessman with care and nuance. However, the film is very much about Tammy Faye; Bakker isn’t given the same amount of grace and understanding as her, although his story is equally as interesting and deserving of exploration.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye veers dangerously close to becoming a tired, conventional and cookie-cutter biopic thanks to its half-baked script, and a lack of visual and stylistic flourishes that would have set it apart from other similar fare – but it is saved and elevated by the two incredible performances at its center, which are more than worth the price of admission alone.
Rating 3.5/5
The Eyes of Tammy Faye will be released in theaters on Friday, September 17, 2021.