‘The Eyes Of Tammy Faye’ Toronto Review: Jessica Chastain & Andrew Garfield Find Religion And Great Roles In Entertaining Biopic
the title was meant to go far beyond perhaps the surface image of a woman known for wearing way too much eye mascara and being great fodder for drag queens everywhere. It was a surprisingly affectionate account of the misunderstood televangelist, singer and wife and business partner of Jim Bakker, whose financial practices landed the couple, and him particularly, in legal trouble that eventually sent him to prison.
Hitting college and emerging into a very different world, Tammy Faye is presented as a friendly and open spirit as the film then follows to meeting and marrying a then-“sinful” rock DJ Jim Bakker , and joining him in a career-changing nascent venture into religious television. The neat trick that the team would eventually discover was in using faith as the backdrop for conventional style talk shows that tackled all sorts of topics, some shockingly off the usual church conversation.
This film covers it all without glossing over the personal troubles, but also sweetly embracing the real person behind the façade. Tammy Faye Bakker was not, at least seen here, the butt of a joke comedians often told, and Chastain delivers a three-dimensional turn, erasing the caricature and emphasizing theof a natural entertainer who, with a shrewd but misguided husband, marketed faith to the masses and sat on top of the world for a while doing just that.
British actor Garfield was an even bigger revelation for me as when I heard of the casting I didn’t quite see it, but he seamlessly suggests the younger Jim Bakker and then slips effortlessly into the role as he ages. For much of it he and Tammy Faye are quite engaging to watch and both exhibit the kind of easy charm you can believe captivated millions during those years.
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