Genre: Drama
WEEK 13: A MOVIE WITH AN ACTRESS YOU LOVE
Description: An intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Baker (Jessica Chastain).
Actually, right at the beginning, when the young Tammy Faye falls for the charms of fellow student Jim Baker. He preaches the Christian faith enthusiastically, but is a little too eager to let slip that living according to God’s law is perfectly compatible with living in luxury. It is typical of Jim’s talent for trying to put things right. A car that clearly does not fit the modest financial status situation of the young couple is not an unwise purchase, but simple a gift from God.
Tammy Faye and Jim soon fall madly in love and get right into the marriage business so they can consummate their marriage. The consequence is that they both have to drop out of college, because the university has a rule prohibiting students from marrying each other. It draw the boundless naiveté of the young couple, for whom religion may not be the best possible guide.
Their enthusiasm for their religion proves to be contagious and so the couple soon finds its way to television, where they can express their love of God in all his glory to an audience of millions, including songs and puppets shows for young viewers. This turns out to make a remarkably good living, as donations from the viewers are accepted as proof of their faith.
Thus, over the years, Tammy Faye’s outfits become more extravagant and the makeup more lavish. So much so that a makeup artist for a television interview would like to remove everything on her and apply something less ostentatious. But alas: the face appears to contain the necessary permanent make-up and he enormous eyelashes may bot be touched, because they are Tammy Faye’s trademark.
At such time it becomes clear that she is first and foremost a television star and only then an evangelist. And can the television work of Tammy Faye and Jim actually be described as an expression of religion or is it just pure entertainment? The fact that at a certain point the couple opens a Christian theme park gives a nice indication in which corner we may look for it.
But all the makeup ultimately appears to conceal a woman who seems to have purely good intentions. Already at a young age Tammy Faye realizes that she is a lot more theatrical than most people, but pleasantly enough she is a lot more sincere in her beliefs than you would expect based on that.
Where Jerry Falwell openly uses his preaching on television to proclaim his arch-conservative agenda and Jim is only too happy to talk down such figures, Tammy Faye turns out to be remarkably faithful to her progressive views of the faith. This manifests itself in a great sense of charity even leading her to talk to AIDS patients on her television program.
The question is how this can be reconciled with her exorbitant lifestyle, which is paid for entirely by the voluntary donations of her viewers. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t really have an answer for that. Whereas Jim Baker shows himself soon enough to be a hypocrytical figure who values his status over what he preaches, Tammy Faye remains a bit too much of an enigma, especially when it comes to morality.
Quite striking, since “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is set up as the great Jessica Chastain show. In the title role, the actress pulls out all the stops and consistently manages to impress with acting that is naturally grand and theatrical, but also fragile. Andrew Garfield offer fine counterplay as Jim Baker.
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is exactly the Oscar season film you can expect from it: the smoothly told story of the rise and fall of a striking person, which act as a showcase for the lead actress. Chastain deservedly won an Oscar for this performance.
Rating: 3/ 5
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