The Eyes of Tammy Faye is a documentary film directed by Michael Showalter. It is a story of doom. From a multi-million religious broadcasting network to turning into an 80s laughing stock, the film reveals some dark truths about perfection that tv sells. How happy faces are the ones masking their depression behind the veil. How is truth not just what's visible to the eyes?
You Can Read More About Great Documentaries Like “Val, “Homeroom“, And “In The Same Breath“.
Her journey
The story chronicles the life of Tammy Faye, a life spanning the extremes. From riding up the corporate ladder of success and fame to her fallen marriage and later dying of cancer, it is an abyss of a journey that is now documented and is available for the whole world to witness.
A television show ran over CBN entangling the faith of all Christians together, hosted by Tammy Faye Bakker and Jim Bakker. The couple took the world by storm with their goodness and their love for God. Tammy married Jim within the term of their college, causing them to departed from it and, at the same time, defying the blessings of their family. The family was not in favour of the pace they were going with.
When they thought that their dream of becoming a minister was in wreck, they joined a church that opened its doors for them. It is a life from which there was no returning back. The Stars of North Carolina, went from hosting children's shows to anchoring an adult Christian talk show. They founded a heritage village amusement park. It was a golden period for sure.
Fame blinds us all
They were the icon of perfection not until fame blinded them. Behind all that was visible on the silver sparkle screen hid some dark truth about their frail relationship.
Her health and abuse
Tammy’s pneumonia revealed her drug issues, exposing her to the world. The downfall of the empire they built began from that day and did not seize after that. The controversies were on the rise since then, and one peculiar controversy ruined the reputation they built. It was the controversy of Jim exploiting the nanny of their children.
Bankruptcy
In 1987 bankruptcy gripped them, and Jim got imprisoned in 1989 and a failing marriage leading to divorce. Tammy did find love again outside their marriage after their divorce, and she also found her long lost fame. But not for long as she succumbed to cancer.
Cast
The News around the town had started the speculation of a massive project with Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield as lead cast. It got confirmed with the onset of Principal photography in October 2019. Tammy and Jim commenced their success in Charlotte, North Carolina. Its world premiere scheduled to be at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival moved up a week, with the recent date finalized to be September 12, 2021.
Hard Work on the actor's part
We will get to see Jesica Chastain in the lead role as Tammy Faye Bakker. But there is a twist, as she has claimed in many interviews, about her paranoia about this role. With many scenes in between the filming disturbing her.
The amount of dedication she poured into this role is commendable, as she watched about 200 documentaries. Crazy right?
Wrapping up
It is an extraordinary story that is enough to shake one’s soul and make you wonder about the deep implication of this movie. The film made its way to 3 top nomination lists. It has a runtime of about 2 hours.
We really hope you will enjoy the movie. Do push like and comment below about your views on the storyline. Visit our website for more content on entertainment.