TIFF 2021: The Eyes of Tammy Faye Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Finding the right balance between theatrics and telling a compelling story to tie it all together is tough. Meanwhile, there is not many people more theatrical than famed televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. Adapted from the documentary of the same name about Bakker, The Eyes of Tammy Faye is a compelling dramedy biopic that treads that fine line by doing the over-the-top nature of its titular subject justice while going deeper and delivering a story about the downfall of devotion. Though the film for the most part follows the standard rise and fall biopic format, its performances across the board elevate it above its standard nature. Besides some superb makeup and costume work to bring its main character to life, a pair of spectacular performances from Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield take it even further. bringing it all together. However at the end of the day, this was undisputedly Chastain’s show as the film saw her deliver a career-best performance where she absolutely lost herself within the titular character and looked to be having the time of her life in the process.

As mentioned, The Eyes of Tammy Faye followed the rise and fall story of Tammy Faye Bakker (Chastain) and her husband Jim (Garfield) as they rose from a pair of traveling preachers in the American Midwest to building their religious empire. Known for her eyelashes, singing, and oddball personality, her message of love and acceptance and her love of others made her a popular personality for all people. Marrying at a young age, Tammy and Jim were ambitious upstarts looking to spread the word of God to as many people as possible. Their methods may have been unconventional but they were nonetheless effective as they earned the Bakkers a considerable following that only grew higher over time. Over that same time, their ambition and devotion did not always match up with their means which got them into financial trouble though instead of addressing that trouble, they kept doubling down through even more theatrics. From there, their relationship became more about continuing to grow their empire, leading to repercussions on their marriage. This more or less led to the downfall of the Bakkers.

The best part of The Eyes of Tammy Faye was of course its performances with Chastain reigning supreme as Tammy Faye Bakker. Unrecognizable underneath some incredible makeup work, this was only the beginning as she absolutely lost herself within the character, fully committing to all of the theatrics involved with the character and her unquestionable devotion to God and contrasting it with her pain and frustration which maybe made her question that devotion. She commanded the screen as her incredible presence made it hard to not look away. Garfield was a charming yet slimy delight as Jim Bakker, a man whose devotion became so intertwined with his ambition that it caught up to him before it was too late. The great chemistry between Chastain and Garfield made them a powerful pair to watch for sure. Jones as Tammy Faye’s mother Rachel was sensational at what amounted to a grounding counterbalance to the ridiculousness around her.

In the end, one can’t help but be entertained watching The Eyes of Tammy Faye. It may be too much for some but it wouldn’t be much of a film otherwise.

 still courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.