Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
From the 1960s to the 1980s, evangelist Jim Baker and his ambitious wife, Tammy Faye, rose from humble beginnings to build an empire based on big-time evangelical Christianity--only for the couple to fall from grace because of some all-too-human sins.
Jessica Chastain's transformative, Oscar-winning performance as Tammy Faye Bakker is the undeniable centerpiece of this biopic, earning a rare 4 for acting alongside Andrew Garfield's solid turn as Jim Bakker. The film covers the familiar rise-and-fall biopic arc competently but without much structural innovation — it hits the expected beats of the televangelist scandal story without deeply interrogating its subject or offering surprising insights. Cinematography is functional and period-appropriate but unremarkable. The ending feels somewhat abrupt and emotionally unresolved, failing to fully capitalize on the sympathy the film builds for Tammy Faye. Novelty is limited; despite an unusual subject, the film leans heavily on biopic conventions.