Review: Jessica Chastain and those "Eyes of Tammy Faye"
Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 3:00PM By Nathaniel R
A makeup artist fumbles, discovering she can't undo what Tammy Faye hath wrought. It's not a matter of removing the makeup and starting fresh as some of it is tattooed right on. The former televangelist's lips are permanently lined and the raccoon eyes are there to say; mascara as monument. Was this scene at the beginning or the end of the new biopic The Eyes of Tammy Faye? One can never remember with framing devices that flashback to tell you the whole story that got us there but it hardly matters. The point that comes across is not so much how we got there -- though perhaps the filmmakers think go given the framing device-- but that Tammy Faye's clown makeup bioqueen persona is an absolute. She didn't will into it existence so much as uncover and reveal its eternal nature.
Is this laying it on too thick? The prose, I mean, not the mascara. Of course! But "too much" is just right for anything Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker related...
Too much was their charm, their grift, and their downfall. And it was impossible to miss if you lived through the 80s. I personally find performative religiosity creepy and I couldn't name a single televangelist working today in 2021 but such was the monoculture of the pre-internet/pre-streaming days of just three television channels that you could only partially curate your own entertainment landscape. There were fewer famous people pre internet but they were more famous, their reach extending far past what would be niche interest boundaries now.
Not that fame was ever easy to achieve. The early scenes of The Eyes of Tammy Faye work the traditional full biopic path of showing us the embryonic version of the celebrity and the hard work before the blossoming of full adult fame. Even as a child (played by Chandler Head) we see that Tammy Faye is a natural performer and utterly shameless scene-stealer, tricking her way into church and performing speaking in tongues to get the born-again crowd on her side and her disapproving sterm mother (reliable Cherry Jones) off her back. In college (when Jessica Chastain takes over the titular role) she's just as shameless, clapping back to her religion professor and flirting with a fellow student, the young Jimmy Bakker (a suprisingly convincing Andrew Garfield). Once they're on the road as a husband and wife team (he preaches, she sings and works the crowd) we see the ambition, charisma, humor, greed, sexuality, and narcissism that will all intermingle and play into their messy legend.
Pre-fame Chastain's performance is sunshine charming with a stifled undertow -- she knows that her mom held her back but hasn't quite grasped how similarly controlling Jim is, an important seed in the character arc. Once Tammy Faye is "Tammy Faye," a childwoman with impulse control problems, an unhappy marriage, denial issues, and little in the way of emotional filter, Chastain is remarkable both physically and emotionally. A wrenching subplot about Tammy Faye's emotional affair with a musician (played by real life musician Mark Wystrach) and its fallout lands remarkably well as a result. The actress is somehow fully expressive despite the ever-increasing makeup (both traditional and prosthetic) that you'd think would bury her.
Most impressive is her vocal range. She sings perfectly in-character, annoyingly saccharine but on pitch and fully invested in each note despite a glaring lack of artistry. While speaking she pitches her voice on the edge of crying and giggling simultaneously. All in all it's a perfect evocation of Tammy Faye's iconic disarming persona. What's more, for longtime fans of Chastain this star turn is distinctly in the comic register of her Oscar nominated "Celia Foote" in The Help, which, whatever one thinks of that movie as a whole, was her truly adorable mainstream breakthrough. She absolutely should do more comedies.
Jesus keeps taking me higher and higher
Jesus keeps taking me higher and higher
Daily hiding me in His abounding love
And when I stumble, He gives me a shove, yeah
You could argue (though I personally wouldn't) that Chastain is too sensational in this particular role. Her sympathetic rendering of Tammy Faye is a wonder but it does tilt us away from the grift of it all and avoid addressing any of the harm televangelism caused. Jim and Tammy Faye fleeced millions of people over the course of their storied careers. And while the gay community and Tammy Faye were naturally drawn to each other via a love of flamboyance, she was a problematic ally at best. We see the Bakker's eventual criminal comeuppance but it's laid almostly entirely at Jim's feet. More forcefully their downfall provides an even larger hidden villain to highlight. Vincent D'Onofrio plays Jerry Falwell and through his machinations you see the courtship of the future unholy union between the GOP and Evangelical Christians. With multiple villains around, the movie has no time for (and no interest in) Tammy's own culpability.
we're not doing anything wrong, though.
Chastain does offer nuanced line readings that suggest that the woman remained willfully ignorant and willfully oblivious to her own greed. But director Michael Showalter and Abe Sylvia's screenplay never decide quite how to incorporate this. A fur coat that Tammy wants to give her at-first horrified mother, takes on confused symbolic weight here. It's trying to illustrate a deal with the devil (where is this money supposed to be going rather than for more clothes and ever larger homes for the Bakkers?) and a beautiful loving connection at the same time.
Mostly The Eyes of Tammy Faye is content to paint an entertaining and sympathetic picture of this fallen famous woman, while condemning her husband. Was Tammy Faye wrongfully vilifed due to cultural and religious sexism? YES 100%. Did she know how criminal her own organization was? MAYBE. You can be a villain and wrongly vilifed. Two things can be true. But that's for a bolder movie, one operating on Jessica Chastain's exhalted \level.
Movie: B; Jessica Chastain: A
Oscar Prospects: Jessica Chastain is a good bet for a Best Actress nomination and, depending on how the rest of the year fares, it could also land in Makeup and Hair or Costumes. (Charts will be updated this week... stay tuned)
Reader Comments (15)
Excited by Chastain's prospects for a Film Bitch Medal!
I don't think I'm going to see this in theaters but I will see it when it's available for streaming as I do love Jessica Chastain.
The documentary similarly painted Tammy in a 99% positive light. There was one moment where someone (was it Jm J Bullock?) said that yes, indeed, she believes homosexuality is a sin. Regardless, this looks worthwhile for Chastain alone, as expected.
Great review, Nathaniel - I saw the movie this afternoon and agree with everything you’ve written. I’m thinking it’s going to be a Chastain/Stewart showdown for the gold.
It really is amazing that what people consider the most 'famous' people in the world today could make a show and it would rate in numbers that'd be unfathomably disastrous in the '90s or even '00s.
Its metacritic score is really low. I may watch this movie after Chastain gets the normination.
Loving how Chastain can possibly win an Oscar and an Emmy in the same year.
Well, I have the feeling that the crowded Best Actress race will end with the winner being in a Best Picture nominee... this seems to disqualify Chastain as a possible winner, make Cruz a longshot for the win, and bring real doubts about Hudson...
She's so unfunny on TikTok that I have my reservations.
Two related questions: Does Garfield has any chance? If they decide to run him in supporting, would that increase his chance/be category fraud?
Oscar or Razzie? One or both?
Sensational review, Nathaniel. Saw this last night, and loved it. I think that despite your reservations and mine, we both liked the movie a lot more than most mainstream critics. The film does a good job of juggling a lot of facts, history and psychological inflections without getting overly stilted. Like a lot of biopics, it skips over a lot of important events and dramatic nuance, but such is the nature of the genre. And it remains entertaining and emotional throughout. Jessica is absolutely terrific, in a role that has an extraordinarily high level of difficulty, and I think this would be a worthy Best Actress win (even without seeing the other performances in the running as of yet). Her snub for Molly's Game still upsets me. I mean, how do you narrate a movie, explain poker, navigate Sorkin's complicated, fast dialogue, get beaten up, then put on your makeup, all the while giving a wonderful tour-de-force performance, and still not get an Oscar nomination? Sigh.
Now that I've seen the film, I can't imagine that Chastain won't be a strong contender all through awards season. It's a great performance, and it's the type of performance the Academy loves. (It's also very different from her previous work.)
kin - You didn't ask me, but I think Garfield is very worthy, and it wouldn't be fraudulent to run him in Supporting, because it's really Tammy Faye's story. (He'll probably make my top 5 in the category, when all is said and done). However, Chastain is so spectacular that she overshadows him. It reminds me of, say, Kristen Stewart in Still Alice, David Straitharn in Nomadland, etc. - excellent performances, but all of the focus will be on the leading lady.
Julies -- i agree on all these points except for maybe Garfield in top 5
Just watched it and MAN, Chastain is sensational. I thought the film could be edited down but otherwise much stronger than some recent biopic wins/nominations. This would be a very worthy BA win (still so much unseen, of course).
While Garfield is undoubtedly a secondary character to Tammy Faye, and could legitimately run in supporting, it's still one of those borderline cases where I'd feel guilty having him take a BSA spot. I know it's not all about screen time but he has a LOT of screen time. Either way I'll be happy if he pulls off a coattail nom since it's a great performance and he's overdue.