“The Eyes Of Tammy Faye” was released in 2021. (same year No Time To Die came out) It received mixed reviews from critics and movie goers alike. Jessica Chastain earned a Golden Globe nomination for “Best Actress In A Drama.” Unfortunately, Nicole Kidman took home the award for her performance as Lucille Ball in “Being The Ricardos.”
Jessica Chastain’s most recent film “The 355” is out right now. Her next project is a Darren Aronofsky produced-film titled, “The Good Nurse” intended to stream sometime this year on Netflix. Andrew Garfield’s Golden Globe winning role as Jonathan Larson in “Tick Tick Boom” is streaming on Netflix. I’m prepping up for the upcoming 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards to keep myself occupied on selective nominated films and then share my thoughts one entry at a time.
This review contains no SPOILERS. If you haven’t seen The Eyes Of Tammy Faye, feel free to check out my non-spoiler article. Keep in mind, this is a short review. This movie is not a complex rewatchable psychological thriller like “Shutter Island.” Just a low stakes biographical movie. Is it enjoyable or a stinker? Let’s find out, shall we?
Bright & Dark Aspects
Bright: Jessica Chastain & Andrew Garfield both did an amazing job for their respective performances. Besides portraying the titular role, Jessica also served as a producer. She even did her own singing. Unlike Natalie Wood in “West Side Story,” Jessica didn’t pull a Milli Vinilli by lip-synching.
Fun Fact: Jessica bought the film rights to produce a biopic of Tammy, because she was fascinated with her life story.
Other Cast Members such as Cherry Jones & Vincent D’Onofrio both did a good job for their respective performances.
Michael Showalter did a solid job directing.
Specific decades primarily spanning from The 60s-80s takes us back in time to see Tammy & Jim’s rise and fall as televangelists while their marriage goes through ups and downs. I’m gonna be brutally honest, I’ve never heard of Tammy Faye, until this movie introduced me to her life story.
Chemistry between Tammy & Jim serves as the main highlight. As the movie progresses, their marriage declines along with their careers.
Prosthetic Makeup transformed Jessica into Tammy. She looks unrecognizable.
Primary Themes are Marriage, Fraud, Religion, Fame & Downfall. Each one is handled maturely.
I think Tammy Faye’s career might’ve inspired the HBO series, “The Righteous Gemstones” with Danny McBride.
A “where are they now” scenario reveals what happened after Tammy & Jim’s downfall. If you’re fully aware of their lives, you already know why.
Dark: Cinematography occasionally succumbs to Shaky Cam. Is it so hard to keep a camera still? Who’s in charge of filming, Woody Woodpecker drinking too much Monster Energy?
The Final Verdict: A-
Despite mixed reviews, I really enjoyed The Eyes Of Tammy Faye. I still don’t get why some critics didn’t like it alongside “The Tender Bar.” If you have nothing to do over the week, I highly recommend this movie and the latter George Clooney directed. If you’re fascinated with Tammy life story, there’s a documentary narrated by RuPaul. One more thing, don’t forget to stream Andrew Garfield’s recent film, Tick Tick Boom.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 