Multiple Oscar nominee, Jessica Chastain, finally won the Best Actress Oscar for one of her weaker films, the cheezy and shallow biopic, The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
Based on the 2000 documentary of the same name by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbarto, this new biopic is poorly directed by Michael Showalter from a rambling script by Abe Sylvia.
Utterly cnventional, the film follows a chronological order in telling the story of Tammy Faye Bakker (Chastain), from her humble beginnings in International Falls, Minnesota, through the rise and fall of her televangelism career and marriage to Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield).
Cherry Jones and Vincent D’Onofrio also star as Faye’s parents.
Poduced by Chastain’s company, Freckle Films, as a star vehicle, The Eyes of Tammy Faye world premiered at the 2021 Toronto Film Fest, and was released on Sept 17 by Searchlight Pictures to mixed reviews.
Critics praised Chastain’s performance, while criticizing the film, which was o inferior to the documentary.
Oscar Awards:
Best Actress Jessica Chastain
Best Makeup and Hairstyling Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, and Justin Raleigh
For that role, Chastain also won the SAG Award and Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actress.
Of Similar Interes:
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000): documentary featuring Tammy Faye Bakker.
Tammy Faye: Death Defying (2005): A follow-up doc about battles with cancer.
Fall From Grace (1990): TV film, starring Bernadette Peters as Bakker.
