When I saw Jessica Chastain in _The Tree of Life_, _Zero Dark Thirty_,
and her interviews on Charlie Rose 10+ years ago, I knew that this
is a person without a ceiling. Anyone could have seen the greatness
in her. Everything I ever knew and cared about acting, I learned from
studying her work. She played a huge role in reviving my interest in
cinema.

Yet I am still left speechless by her staggering achievements of the
last few years: the Oscar-winning _The Eyes of Tammy Faye_, the
underrated _The Good Doctor_, the reboot of Ingmar Bergman's "Scenes
from a Marriage," her Broadway triumph _A Doll's House_, and finally
the miniseries "George and Tammy." On top of that, both "Tammy"s
are released under her own Freckle label (as is _The 355_ which is
so much better than the inexplicably awards-winning bastardization
of _Dune_). The enforced Covid interruptions seemed to have
rejuvenated her. How Chastain can ever top these glory years? But
I'd hate to be the one betting against her.

"George and Tammy" could also be titled "Scenes from a Marriage,"
but the contrast between the two cannot be more stark. "Scenes"
is like a 5-act stage play, thrives on continuity, long scenes,
the two leads Chastain and Oscar Isaac transforming, revealing,
re-inventing themselves as each hour-long episode unfold. It
is a paragon of brilliant acting; Chastain's character, in
particular, is always pretending to be something she is not,
acting/bluffing her way through adversity to gain an edge. The
series is cerebral, like a murder mystery at times.

In contrast, "George and Tammy," based on their daughter's memoir,
does not dwell on narration; it has a backstory only too familiar
to country music fans. So it focuses on the greatest hits and the
lowest lowlights of the star-crossed relationship between Tammy
Wynette (Chastain) George Jones (Michael Shannon), letting the
viewer (and some flimsy dialogue connective tissue) to fill in
the blanks. It is impressionist and intensely emotional. There
is hardly anything you'd call "acting" here. Both lead characters
wear their heart on their sleeves; Chastain and Shannon simply
embody these deeply flawed people to the last fiber of their
ultra-expressive, larger-than-life beings. Their searing,
soul-baring work is inspiring and devastating to watch -- even
for someone like me who knows nothing about country music.
(The Wikipedia rides to the rescue a little bit ...) Theirs
are truly epic performances, going through more emotions in each
episodes than most actors render in a life time. The supporting
cast is uniformly excellent, especially Kelly McCormack whom I
never knew before. One suggestion: if Chastain ever needs
someone to play her younger self or daughter, she can do worse
than the French actress Alyzee Costes ("The Black Butterflies").
The physical resemblance is uncanny.

I don't remember another project where a Chastain character gets
to be so deliriously happy -- flashing her thousand-watts-smile,
head over heels in love, sultry, lusting for Jones' touch. Later
Wynette becomes disillusioned, rueful, increasingly exhausted,
constantly in pain (botched abortion), in drug-induced haze. But
her core being, and her lust for life, never goes away. I wish
I can understand Wynette's (or country music fans') love of George
Jones, introduced as a debauched drunk given to violent fits.
When married to Wynette and sober, Shannon portrays him as
awkward and shy, riding around an undersized lawn-mower like a
lovable neutered bear. Chastain and Shannon collaborated on
_Take Shelter_; she greatly admires him and must have hand-picked
him for the role.

But soon afterwards Jones wants his fire back, takes to drinking
again, shoots up the family X'mas party with a shotgun, and beats
up Wynette in a scene which is truly hard to watch. He almost
kills his best friend in another drunken rage. Wynette accuses
him of killing her love for him via his drinking, but her
workaholism, her tendency to put career above everything, is an
addiction too. You wonder if this is what has drawn Chastain to
this project; being an A-list actress, she knows what it is like
riding a hurricane.

Wynette and Jones get divorced. He hits rock bottom and finds
religion. She has 21 major surgeries, becomes addicted to pills,
marries her manager who medicates and then hits her. (That
manager's ex-wife is Wynette's close friend and assistant who
kills herself -- a plot point curiously elided until the very
end.) All these misadventures, needless to say, are mined as
materials for hit songs, sang by the two leads themselves.

The re-enactments of the studio recording and live concerts
have been the major selling points of this series. Both are
very convincing in their singing (although I am hardly qualified).
Chastain has apparently never sang in a film or play, but admits
to being a jukebox connoisseur. Shannon's baritone voice
serves him well, while Chastain's is both trenchant and luxurious,
ranging from barely audible to radiantly resplendent. As I have
written too many times, she is born to be the commanding Voice
of the Bene Gesserit of _Dune_. The make-up department deserves
special recognition. Her big hair and overripe make-up in
the series give the actress a look completely different than
in her recent films. Yet when she does up her hair, nervously
smoking and quivering with rage while Jones deliberately
sings for hours to keep her off the stage (perhaps the most
series' greatest scene), it is unmistakably the Chastain
we have revered.

Wynette pushes herself so mercilessly she is dead by her
mid-fifties, and Chastain seems to have lost a lot of weight
to capture her character's frailness. Towards the end she
becomes resigned, says a lot less, conserving energy for her
performances. Yet she still finds joy in singing, fulfillment
in her work and in having secured a future for her children.
After all that turmoil, her contentedness is wonderful to
see, even as she rues the ruined relationship with Jones
("it is too late"). The series ends with Wynette, Jones,
and their old band on the road again, casually singing and
riffing on their RV, while their spouse-managers wrangle
about money off-screen. It cannot have been scripted better.

Even though I prefer the story in "Scenes from a Marriage,"
the cinematography and set designs of "George and Tammy"
are unquestionably far superior. Director John Hillcoat
has done many music videos, and worked with Chastain in the
hillbilly noir _Lawless_. I am not a big fan of the graphic
torture in _Lawless_ but cannot help admire the sumptuous
color schemes, blocking, and brilliant lighting in this
series -- especially during the concert scenes. The
editing is first rate. The fateful shoot-up over X'mas
is accompanied with flickering soft light, like in _Dekalog
3_, but here they are menacing, come from police sirens.
Episode 5, much of it shown from Jones' perspective and
contains its share of drug-induced fantasies, is quite
daring for this kind of series. Maybe I should catch
Hillcoat's adaptation of _The Road_ after all. Series
creator and co-writer is also more convincing here than in
_The Eyes of Tammy Faye_; there is far greater appreciation
and respect for the times and the era. Technically and
in terms of story-telling, it is hard to find a single
flaw with this amazing work.

I have resisted watching "George and Tammy" for the
longest time. The combination of my internet and amazon
streaming proves deadly. But more than that, I was
intimidated by the emotional energy one expends to do
justice to Chastain's previous series "Scenes from a
Marriage." Of course my investment is a tiny fraction
of what the creators and actors expended; I cannot
imagine how hard they worked on it. "George and Tammy"
is just as rich and rewarding. The DVD is supposed to
be released soon; I so look forward to rewatching it
on that medium.

(for A.)