REVIEW: THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE

4/5

The Eyes Have It. 

126 Mins. Starring: Jessica Chastain, Andrew Garfield, Cherry Jones & Vincent D'Onofrio. Director: Michael Showalter. 

Behind the layers of make-up and iconic eyelashes that could huff, puff and blow your whole house down in the blink of an eye. Live from your living room you really see 'The Eyes Of Tammy Faye' for what they really are and hold thanks to Jessica Chastain at her most compelling. All in for the foundation of a perfect performance that needs no touch up or eye-liner. No matter how many times this actor amazingly transforms herself physically on screen. There's a shared spirit like kin within. Right now whilst the best actress in our opinion working today isn't ass kicking as an assassin (2020's pandemic problematic 'Ava'), or an agent ('The 355' international, female spy-ring, big movie, which again has been controlled by closed borders, out in Japan this week like this movie on Disney +), she's heading for the trophy cabinet. Just like she should have when she gave us 'The Zookeepers Wife', 'Miss Sloane' and 'Molly's Game' IN THE SAME YEAR (2017)! Let's hope Oscar has woken up. Because this is her award season calendar again. One were she deserves an Emmy for 'A Most Violent' reunion with an Oscar of the Isaac variety, for the Julliard alumnis real and raw at your front door redecorating of the Swedish miniseries 'Scenes From A Marriage' for HBO. So let's get these two in a Springsteen and Patti biopic ASAP. They were born to run with this. After Jess gave Lady Gaga in 'House Of Gucci', Laura Linney in part one of the last season of the 'Ozark' Netflix series and of course Frances McDormand in 'The Tragedy' the original Lady Macbeth that 'Year' in 2014. Around a year before former '355' dropped out co-star Marion Cotillard did the Shakespearean one like Frances and Denzel with Chastain's 'Dark Phoenix' co-star Michael Fassbender. But now in an Academy of her own, you have never seen 'The Help' and 'Zero Dark Thirty' star quite like this before. 

Don't let the lipstick fool you like the name of the autobiography of Los Angeles Sparks WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, changing the game. Or any of the other exfoliating trimmings. Because beyond a bronzer, the way Jessica makes-up Tammy for this movie like a Melissa McCarthy one is worthy of the gold like 'Can You Forgive Me'? All before she moves into another miniseries as Tammy again, reuniting with Michael Shannon for 'George and Tammy' (Wynette). 'Take Shelter' indeed. This is it like floating too, no clownface. Critics, press and late night talk and sketch shows crucified this infamous televangelist before this age of cancel culture for the sins of her husband. But this beautiful, misunderstood icon that our leading lady clearly connects with just loved everybody. No matter who they were, or what the church said. Before we had letters like LGBT, this pioneer of social justice and acceptance had L.O.V.E like Hudson for Aretha R.E.S.P.E.C.T. And a lot of fun to boot as she brought cooking and even penile pumps to homes across America like Martha Stewart (the cooking...not the pumps. But it's a fitting legal comparison in this case). All here for some Michael Douglas in 'Behind The Candelabra', curtain pulled, behind the scenes look into the paint chipped off the block of this white picket fence. As 'The Big Sick' landmark director and classic comedian Michael Showalter gets this show on the road in Steven Soderbergh like scene setting that is so convincing it could deliver us a documentary for the record (he even pointedly nails the ABC news interview) like all those 'American Crime Stories' from Ryan Murphy. From OJ to Versace and Clinton and Lewinsky in this golden era of entertainment in the 90's, all in the same week we get 'Pam and Tommy' back on videotape. 

Finding religion, W magazine recently ran an Oscar preview special on literally everybody (Chastain has some compelling competition in 'Gucci's' Gaga, Olivia Colman's 'Lost Daughter', Jennifer Hudson's 'Respect', Alana Haim's slice of acting life in 'Liquorice Pizza' and the 'Passing' interest of both Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga amongst more). And in referencing her earliest work, Jessica called her mother character in Terrence Malick's 'The Tree Of Life', "the epitomie of grace." Fitting as this favourite film of mine and it's "the only way to be happy is to love" message delivered from its mother moved me and I've only seen it on a smartphone YouTube video at twice the speed (yeah, I know. Desperate times, called for desperate measures. I was broke and I had to see it). Coincidentally my life's mission is to name my first daughter Grace (if I should be so lucky to have one and with my future wife's blessing). Grace and God are as close as family and this epitomie of Grace could just as easily described the late Tammy. Fate would have it a different way for Faye. But all she wanted to so was love. Even as her husband shamefully played out telethon charging numbers across the screen like Kramer trying to squeeze the purse strings of 'Seinfeld's' Nana. And next to Chastain giving her best since she played poker tycoon Molly Bloom (Jessica is to biopics what she is to space operas like Matt Damon's 'Martian' and 'Interstellar'). The husband Jim Bakker, played equally big chinned and award worthy by Andrew Garfield, who is having the year of his career too with this, another biopic about theatrical 'Rent' composer Jonathan Larson on Netflix and nothing else...the guy is in absolutely nothing else at the moment. But if it does garner gold, the Oscar should go to him for his explosive New York minute performance on Broadway for Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'Tick, Tick...Boom!' Although he is truly amazing here at playing someone who should have learnt from another Michael Douglas movie that greed isn't as good as it looks with the state pen pending. Especially when Vincent D'Onofrio's religious kingpin gets his cane into Spider-Man's Web of deceit. Vincent who is so good, albeit briefly in Sandra Bullock's 'The Unforgivable' and nothing else...this actor is also in absolutely nothing else right now. But for all the movie stars on TV here, it's small screen standout Cherry Jones ('The Handmaid's Tale', 'Succession') who steals the show like Allison Janney in similar 'I, Tonya' aesthetic who really moves as Tammy's mother. Praise be, showing us what real religion is like and why her daughter is like she is. Blessed be this love. Tammy may have played with puppets, quite lovingly, but she was never going to be made by any man's manipulation and in our mic drop moment, that's what truly sings. They say the eyes are the soul and despite modern practitioners of religion trying to pass the collection plate for all its congregations worth, the ones that belong to Tammy are as pure as they come. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Further Filming: 'Scenes From A Marriage', 'Tick, Tick...Boom!', 'Molly's Game'.