George & Tammy
Starring Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon as country music legends Tammy Wynette and George Jones, Paramount+ series George & Tammy follows Wynette over the course of three decades up until her death in 1998, focusing on the life-long love she shared with Jones. Bolstered by exceptional performances from Chastain and Shannon (both of whom have excellent singing voices), the music biopic tackles hard-hitting issues such as alcoholism, abuse and addiction, all of which are carefully deployed to illustrate what the Stand By Your Man singer was writing about.
In the first episode, Wynette is trying to get her big break in showbiz and is taken to meet Jones in his hotel room the morning after she watched him play to an electrified crowd. George is a drunken mess in bed with another woman – but the pair are instantly taken with each other despite their unromantic meeting. He agrees to let her open for him, and they hit the road together. Creator Abe Sylvia wisely lets the duo’s music speak for itself. Between the doe-eyed looks they share on stage, the euphoric crowd and the upbeat melody of Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad, the scene romanticises the lyrics. However, Wynette is known for having a troubled life, and it’s not long before a heartfelt rendition of D-I-V-O-R-C-E is used as an effective tonal counterpoint.
The following episode dives further into Wynette’s sombre story by including a flashback of the electroshock therapy she had while she was pregnant, before leaning into the mental abuse and blackmail that she received from former husband Don (Pat Healy), alongside the physical abuse she faced with a drunken Jones. “Why does she forgive him, though?” she asks during a recording of Stand By Your Man. “Because that’s what you do,” is her blunt response. Within this brief exchange, Sylvia encapsulates the entire thesis of the show, as the iconic track is masterfully deployed to further the emotional storytelling at play.
The Paramount+ series may lack the bite and visual creativity of Disney’s Pam & Tommy (another biopic about a celebrity couple). However, stellar performances and ingenious use of music nevertheless create an entertaining drama that shines a critical light on the stories behind the lyrics.
Andrew Murray
George & Tammy is released on Paramount+ on 5th December 2022.
Watch the trailer for George & Tammy here:
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