Jessica Chastain Gives a Strong Performance in The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Growing up in the ‘80s, I remember seeing images of Tammy Faye Bakker. She was ridiculed in the media for her heavy make-up and eccentric personality. But who is the real Tammy Faye? “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” gives a fuller picture of this complex person.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye is an intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker (Jessica Chastain). In the 1970s and ’80s, Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield) built a burgeoning religious broadcasting network and theme park – until rivals, financial wrongdoing and scandal toppled their empire.

Jessica Chastain gives a strong, layered performance as Tammy Faye. In her younger days, you see how strong and determined Tammy Faye was in helping build Jim Bakker’s PTL Club. While watching the movie, I marveled at the fact that it was Jessica’s actual singing voice during Tammy Faye’s performances.

The movie looks beyond the caricature and shows Tammy Faye as a compassionate person and a champion of LGBTQ people. It’s no wonder that Jessica Chastain won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.

The cast includes Andrew Garfield as Jim Bakker, Cherry Jones as Rachel Grover, Vincent D’Onofrio as Jeffrey Falwell, Mark Wystrach as Gary Paxton and Sam Jaeger as Roe Messner.

If you missed seeing this movie in the theaters, it’s available now on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Bonus Feature

• A Look Inside The Eyes of Tammy Faye – Hear what drew Jessica Chastain, castmates and filmmakers to The Eyes of Tammy Faye. From prosthetics to singing, uncover Jessica Chastain’s remarkable multi-layered transformation into Tammy Faye Bakker.

“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is available now on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital.
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is rated PG-13.
Visit the official movie website here for more information.

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. I received a complimentary copy of the movie which helped facilitate this review. Images shown in this post are used with permission. As always, my opinions are 100% my own.