The Eyes of Tammy Faye               3 ½ stars

It’s back to the seventies and eighties to the time of big hair, polyester pants and expensive furs with The Eyes of Tammy Faye. To say that Jessica Chastain stars as the iconic fallen Tammy Faye doesn’t bring justice to her performance. The actress known for her strong woman roles in Zero Dark Thirty, Miss Sloane and Molly’s Game transforms herself into the cheery, high-pitched, almost comic wife of the high powered TV evangelist, Jim Bakker as we follow her life from the sixties where the pair meet in college, to their creation of the massive PTL Network and to their ultimate downfall. Andrew Garfield takes on the role of Bakker, matching the enthusiastic personality of the televangelist, bringing his message of God’s love and prosperity to the faithful. To those of us who remember that time it is fascinating to see their origin, their rise to power and their ultimate fall as the couple’s marriage crumbles under the weight of unfaithfulness and greed. The film was a personal project of Chastain’s who has been working to bring the story to the big screen for years. While much of the movie might seem like a cliché, Chastain’s performance may be one of the best of her career. It is such a departure from her earlier roles that I had to check if it was really her when she first appears on screen. The movie serves as a reminder of how success can lead people astray, causing them to forget their true mission and pursue fame and riches instead. The Eyes of Tammy Faye brought back memories of the headlines of the late eighties of the corruption and extravagance of the PTL Network that ultimately lead to bankruptcy and prison for Jim Bakker. And who could forget the excessive eye makeup and tears on Tammy Faye’s face?