Stand by your man.... of God
JESSICA CHASTAIN SHOULD BE IN THE RUNNING FOR AN OSCAR NOMINATION FOR HER PERFORMANCE AS THE WIFE OF DISGRACED AMERICAN TELEVANGELIST JIM BAKKER, IN THIS BIZARRE REAL-LIFE STORY
GOD does not want people to be poor, preaches televangelist Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield) in this bizarre true story.
And until he was jailed ailed for fraud and conspiracy, racy, the good Lord seemed ed to be smiling on Jim m and his Christian pop singer wife
Tammy Faye.
Throughout the
1980s, millions of
God-fearing
Americans happily shared their credit card details s with Bakker’s satellite ite channel PTL (Praise e The
Lord) so the couple ouple could spread the word of
God – and enjoy a lavish lifestyle more suited to Roman emperors than Christian saints.
As the title suggests, the film tells the story of the rise and fall of the “Ken and Barbie of televangelists” through Tammy’s heavily mascaraed and – apparently – innocent eyes.
Jessica Chastain deserves high praise and an Oscar nomination for her powerhouse turn as the divinely inspired millionaire.
But, for me, she never managed to sell Tammy as the tragic heroine of this ragsto-riches tale.
Working off the material of an equally sympathetic sympathe 2000 documentary, scriptwriter scriptw Abe Sylvia begins with Tammy’s impoverished is childhood in Minnesota n and the church where she found attention by falling into a divine trance. At bible college she falls for slippery fellow student Jim, they marry and form a travelling e roadshow where Jim preaches to adults and Tammy charms kids with a Christian-themed puppet show. Their ambitions grow when success attracts the attention of a religious TV channel.
Money rolls in until Tammy irks fellow TV preacher Rev Jerry Falwell (Vincent D’Onofrio) by supporting gay rights during the Aids pandemic of the 1980s.
The film suggests it was this brave stance that motivated Falwell to engineer their downfall.
A fraudulent scheme selling partnerships in a “Christian Disneyland” also contributed to Jim’s fall from grace.
But was Tammy really clueless about where all their money was coming from?
There’s plenty of camp fun in the naff costumes and horribly catchy Christian musical routines.
But a more curious script exploring what made Tammy tick would have begotten a far more compelling drama.
■ In cinemas now