The Eyes of Tammy Faye Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Eyes of Tammy Faye Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 17, 2021

Because it's the movie business, awards are never far from anyone's mind, and in that regard, Variety has already been handicapping the upcoming Oscar races for 2022. The Best Actress category seems to be positively overstuffed with possibilities, and rather interestingly sitting atop Variety's current "likely candidates" listing are three performances which are from biographical films. Kristen Stewart is currently in the top position for portraying Princess Diana in Spencer, and Lady Gaga is the current runner up in House of Gucci for her work as Patrizia Reggiani. The third spot is occupied by Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and while Stewart or Gaga may ultimately prevail, Chastain's performance as the erstwhile Tammy Faye Bakker is really a remarkable recreation of a woman who, love her or hate her, was unforgettable for scores of television viewers. The whole aspect of televangelism is of course a supporting element of The Eyes of Tammy Faye, but really this is a more personal story of a little girl with an almost obsessive religious zeal who grew up to become a "prayer warrior" on television, or at least a cheerleader for those "warriors", who were of course told the battle could not be won without significant cash contributions to the Bakker ministry. Surprisingly, given the kind of smarmy subtext of the entire story, Tammy Faye in particular comes off as rather sweet natured, if awfully naive and probably only too willing to be seduced by the attractions of fame and fortune.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye is a rather interesting property in that it was culled from the identically titled 2000 documentary The Eyes of Tammy Faye, which might seem on its face to suggest that a narrative film about the same subject might not be entirely necessary. The documentary was both praised and criticized at the time of its release for its depiction of Tammy Faye, in what those on both sides of the response issue may have thought was a blatant attempt to "rehabilitate" her image. Whether or not the documentary actually succeeded, it at least attempted to show a bit of the real person underneath the pounds of makeup and frilly clothes. This feature film may not be as overt in its strategy of "redefining" Tammy Faye for a general audience, but the effect is probably more or less the same, so that even those who probably laughed uncontrollably at the literal and figurate fall from grace that Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield) experienced may find themselves peculiarly sympathetic to the titular subject (if not always to her husband).

The relationship between Jim and Tammy Faye is central to this film, and the good news is that both Garfield and especially Chastain provide good impersonations, with Chastain usually (but frankly not always) capturing the squeaky little girl qualities of Tammy Faye's voice and some of her almost tic like mannerisms. Abe Sylvia's screenplay arguably relies almost entirely on the performances rather than establishing a through line for the narrative, and as such the film can come off as a series of vignettes rather than a cohesive story. There are also some curious inadequacies in some of the writing concerning "supporting" players, especially with regard to Tammy Faye's mother Rachel Grover (Cherry Jones), who is initially shown to be a horrifying and abusive parent to a daughter she thinks the local church congregation will view as the product of "sin" (since Rachel had divorced Tammy Faye's father), but who later softens appreciably, if she still has an "edge".

Other characters, like Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson, kind of wander in and out of the tale randomly, as if to give Vincent D'Onofrio (Falwell) and/or Gabriel Olds (Robertson) a quick cameo that can add to their performance reels. And in fact the entire trek of Jim and Tammy Faye as supporting players themselves on Robertson's show to megastars is kind of weirdly elided. One moment, Robertson is seemingly avoiding even talking to Jim, and the next, he's fawning over them as the potential "saviors" of the Christian Broadcasting Network. The inadequately developed sidebars also involve a totally peculiar series of episodes involving Gary Paxton (Mark Wystrach) as Tammy's would be "hit maker" in the recording business who seemingly provides her with a bit of the emotional support her marriage to Jim didn't seem to.

Despite some of these perceived flaws, The Eyes of Tammy Faye ends up being a surprisingly emotional journey, especially once Jim's fortunes (again, literal and figurative) implode, leaving Tammy Faye without the "rock" upon which she built her church. This is actually probably the best part of the film in that it shows Tammy Faye emerging from her self imposed chrysalis to embrace the image of herself so many "outsiders" had, while continuing to perform what she obviously felt deeply was her calling to "the Lord's work".

The Eyes of Tammy Faye Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Eyes of Tammy Faye is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Pictures' Searchlight imprint (with Disney/Buena Vista serving as distributors), with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The IMdb lists the Arri Alexa LF and a 4K DI as relevant datapoints. This is a very well detailed looking release whose only slight downfall may be just the hint of banding in a couple of scenes where light values suddenly change. Otherwise, compression anomalies are avoided and from a detail and clarity standpoint, the transfer is excellent throughout. Even some of the most dimly lit material, as in an early scene in a bedroom with a young Tammy Faye, don't really suffer much from what I've termed "Alexa murk". The candy colored material as Tammy Faye matures and becomes a television star pops extremely well, and fine detail on fabrics and especially faces (which director Michael Showalter and cinematographer Michael Gioulakis frequently feature in extreme close-ups) is typically very precise looking as well.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Eyes of Tammy Faye features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, though kind of interesting the disc itself is emblazoned with a Dolby Audio logo, which I assume pertains to the French Dolby Digital 5.1 mix and/or the English descriptive audio Dolby Digital 2.0 track. The primary English language track isn't especially showy, although the surround channels are definitely employed in some of the production numbers that Tammy is involved in, and even some of the supposed broadcast moments with banks of telephones ringing and volunteers taking those donation calls can definitely offer good immersion. A lot of the film, though, is built out of relatively more intimate dialogue scenes, where surround activity can often be limited to ambient environmental sounds. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Look Inside The Eyes of Tammy Faye (HD; 26:06) is a well done three part piece (rather arbitrarily divided, as these things tend to be) with some good interviews with Jessica Chastain in particular. The three parts can be played separately or together.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:22)

Additionally a digital copy is included.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The smart money was never on counting Tammy Faye out, and it's notable that the film closes with both the real Tammy Faye and Jessica Chastain in reenactment mode offering Tammy Faye's defiant "it ain't over until it's over" statement after her cancer diagnosis, so the Oscar sweepstakes may in fact not be a done deal, despite Variety's current rankings. The screenplay is a bit unfocused, but the central performances are riveting. Technical merits are solid, and with a few niggling qualms, The Eyes of Tammy Faye comes Recommended.