'The Eyes Of Tammy Faye' Trailer: Jessica Chastain Transforms Into Infamous Televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker

If you're familiar with Tammy Faye Bakker, it's probably because of all the salacious headlines and gossip that circulated around the televangelist and her husband Jim Bakker back in the 1980s. After creating a religious media empire, a sex scandal sparked by Jim Bakker brought everything tumbling down, sending them both into a highly publicized tailspin. Now their story is being told with a mix of comedy and drama in a new film from Michael Showalter (The Big Sick).

Take a look with the first trailer for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, starring Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield as the Bakkers.

It feels like Michael Showalter is walking a very fine line between satire and drama here. But honestly, if you've seen any clips of the Bakkers on television, there's not much exaggeration being done here. Sure, there will be liberties taken with the presentation of the story, but after hearing Jessica Chastain's take on the material when the first look photos from the movie were revealed, it's clear that The Eyes of Tammy Faye isn't meant to be another slight against the Bakkers. This is a genuine portrayal of their personas and problems in front of and behind the camera, and there's some comedy that comes from that reality.

Jessica Chastain's transformation into Tammy Faye looks incredible. She starts out looking like herself with a more rounded face. But as Tammy Faye begins to layer on more make-up and wrinkles, Chastain gets completely lost in the role. Andrew Garfield also undergoes a shift into Jim Bakker, bringing some of that doe-eyed innocence from Hacksaw Ridge with him. Even the supporting cast looks fantastic here, with Cherry Jones playing Tammy Faye's mother and Vincent D'Onofrio as famed Southern Baptist televangelist Jerry Falwell. The rest of the cast includes Louis Cancelmi, Sam Jaeger, Gabriel Olds, and Mark Wystrach.

Here's the official synopsis for The Eyes of Tammy Faye:

The Eyes of Tammy Faye is an intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. In the 1970s and 80s, Tammy Faye and her husband, Jim Bakker, rose from humble beginnings to create the world's largest religious broadcasting network and theme park, and were revered for their message of love, acceptance and prosperity. Tammy Faye was legendary for her indelible eyelashes, her idiosyncratic singing, and her eagerness to embrace people from all walks of life. However, it wasn't long before financial improprieties, scheming rivals, and scandal toppled their carefully constructed empire.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye will arrive in theaters on September 17, 2021.