George & Tammy

Overall, George & Tammy is as evocative as it is entertaining. Chastain shows off her exceptional range as an actress, and she'll likely have a head start on next year's Emmy Awards by the end of the limited series' run — it'll be a shame if she and Shannon don't earn nominations, at the very least. ... The series is easily one of the best musical biopics released in recent memory.

The necessary biopic parts are all here. But George & Tammy is buoyed remarkably by its two terrific leads, with Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain embodying the best and worst about the country stars as both distinct individuals and two people in a loving but combative celebrity relationship.

Despite its occasional flaws, George & Tammy manages to reinvigorate a worn-out type of love story and the musical biopic. It’s a surprising and delightful feat in our current landfill of miniseries about real-life events, anchored by two electric performances.

“George & Tammy” is at times overwrought, and the dialogue occasionally veers into soap opera territory. But, thanks in large part to Shannon and Chastain delivering powerful, fiery, larger-than-life performances suitable for the characters they’re portraying, it’s a compelling period-piece melodrama, filled with impressive musical performances.

As a story, “George & Tammy” follows familiar beats that have been covered with more economy in similar biopic feature films. It’s not a deeper or more resonant story because it’s told as a six-part series.

With a six-part format, George & Tammy brings a more expansive twang to the fractious lives of country legends Wynette and George Jones, in a solid if unspectacular showcase for crooning stars Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon.

While it nails the fundamental music-biography beats, it can’t find the spark or soul that characterizes the best country songs.

Jessica Chastain has now played two Tammys in her career and she has played them both with brilliance and this time she is reunited with her Take Shelter co-star, Michael Shannon, who like her as always proves himself to be an excellent actor. Their chemistry and dynamic are incredible. The one thing I couldn't understand is why the production opted to have both actors sing the songs with their own voices, and not because either of them were bad singers, because they weren't, even the soundtrack that was released from this miniseries is with their voices, but their voices, especially Chastain's, don't have the same tone as the originals. This doesn't take anything away from their acting, but it becomes a key aspect of their performances, which despite being more spontaneous, still lack the power of a real singer. Nevertheless, go and see it.