Hey, Hollywooders! I just got back from seeing The Eyes of Tammy Faye, one of the many new movies in theaters now.
I took a look at theaters near me to compare movie showtimes and settled on going to the 6 pm Thursday evening showing at the AMC theater near me. Luckily, the theater was almost empty so it felt pretty safe. After watching a bunch of exciting new trailers, the lights went down, and it was time for showtime.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye retells the story of famous Evangelists Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker
Based on the 2000 documentary of the same name, the film follows the rise and fall of televangelists Tammy Faye Bakker (Jessica Chastain) and her husband, Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield). While the 2 are at the top of the world in the ‘70s and ‘80s with their religious broadcasting network PTL and theme park, their personas come crashing down with lies, deceit, and financial woes. The cast includes Cherry Jones, Vincent D’Onofrio, Fredric Lehne, and Louis Cancelmi.
Jessica Chastain is unrecognizable in looks and personality as Tammy Faye
While I’ve seen Jessica Chastain change her hair color and voice for movies like The Help, I’ve never seen her completely change her face like she did in this film. Jessica looked identical to the famous Tammy Faye, with skin prosthetics, heavy foundation, various wigs, signature fake eyelashes, and glittery eyeshadow.
Because of all the makeup prep, Jessica told the Los Angeles Times she feels as though it all affected her skin:
“I think for sure I’ve done some permanent damage to my skin on this. Listen, I eat very pure, and I take very good care of my skin and I stay out of the sun and all that stuff. But it’s heavy. And when you’re wearing it all day, every day — the weight of it on your body, it stretches your skin out. I finally took it off, and I was like, ‘I look 50 years old!’ No, I’m kidding. But it’s fine. It’s for my art.”
Jessica spoke in Tammy Faye’s high-pitched mid-western Michigan accent. The actress even used her own voice to take on Tammy’s bird-like Gospel tone.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye feels like an Oscar contender
This film goes deep into the struggling power dynamics of televangelists of the ‘70s and ‘80s and how greed greatly affected these preachers. The intense, fast, and toxic relationship of Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker is perfectly crafted with the help of Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield, bringing these characters to life. Both of the characters simply slip into their roles as the famous televangelists with pure magnetic chemistry.
Jessica Chastain takes over the role of Tammy Faye with every ounce of energy she has. Throughout the movie, it feels like she carries this hidden weight that’s always overshadowed by her virtuous and compassionate personality. Jessica does a tremendous job in balancing the magic of Tammy Faye while also highlighting her darknesses. From this performance, I believe Jessica rightfully deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
What critics thought of The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Critics and movie-goers love The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
Owen Gleiberman of Variety said the film humanizes the larger-than-life televangelists:
“Chastain and Garfield give performances that are brashly entertaining but also canny and layered, as the characters get caught up in something far bigger than themselves. The Bakkers were hucksters of a grand order, and the film uses their spectacular greedhead soap opera to tell the larger American story of how Christianity got turned into showbiz.”
Film critics and audiences also took to Twitter to say their thoughts on the film.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye is yet another fine example of how talented Michael Showalter is as a filmmaker. An entertaining yet tragic look at the rise & fall of Tammy Faye with two fantastic performances by Andrew Garfield & Jessica Chastain. Highly Recommended. #TheEyesofTammyFaye pic.twitter.com/hrIwvKNNFn
— Scott Menzel (@ScottDMenzel) September 13, 2021
Film critic Scott Menzel praises the movie’s filmmaking and performances.
The best performance by a female in a motion picture in 2021 goes to #JessicaChastain #TheEyesOfTammyFaye pic.twitter.com/APmXMBZRXt
— Alvin Vigil (@DiscoAl_66) September 16, 2021
This Twitter user is on to something.
Just sitting here thinking about how good Jessica Chastain is in #TheEyesOfTammyFaye. pic.twitter.com/8HiCiQigTZ
— Andrew (@jupin) September 16, 2021
She’s iconic.
Watch The Eyes of Tammy Faye in movie theaters now.
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