Belfast 2021
Kenneth Branagh's memoir of growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles; won the TIFF People's Choice Award.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Review · Rankings · Top Five
Top-Five Actor Transformations, ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye,’ and the Horrifying Future of Award Shows
September 21, 2021/ 85 min/ Sean Fennessy · Amanda Dobbins
TIFF wraps, Chastain goes full Tammy Faye, and the hosts rank the actor transformations the Oscars can't resist.
58 films across 7 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
Award Season Kicks OffTelluride, TIFF, and the Emmys' ratings collapse
King Richard 2021
the true crowd-pleaser of the season, if it had played TIFF.
The Rescue 2021
Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's documentary on the Thai cave rescue.
Spencer 2021
Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana.
Dune 2021
Last Night in Soho 2021
Edgar Wright's TIFF premiere, mixed reaction.
The Humans 2021
Stephen Karam adapting his own play, with Richard Jenkins and Beanie Feldstein.
Dear Evan Hansen 2021
The Tragedy of Macbeth 2021
Joel Coen's solo directorial debut.
Parallel Mothers 2021
Pedro Almodóvar.
Benedetta 2021
Paul Verhoeven, premiered at Cannes.
The Souvenir Part II 2021
The Souvenir 2019
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
The Eyes of Tammy Faye 2021
Michael Showalter directs Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain as Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, the televangelists whose PTL network collapsed in scandal. Based on the 2000 documentary of the same name.
Jessica Chastain, a Careerfrom Take Shelter to a rough patch to this year's reset
Take Shelter 2011
roughly her first major role, in Jeff Nichols' film.
The Help 2011
her first Oscar nomination.
The Tree of Life 2011
Zero Dark Thirty 2012
second Oscar nomination.
Lawless 2012
Interstellar 2014
A Most Violent Year 2014
opposite Oscar Isaac, her current Scenes From a Marriage co-star.
The Martian 2015
Crimson Peak 2015
a Guillermo del Toro gothic, probably the performance closest in spirit to Tammy Faye.
The Huntsman: Winter's War 2016
somehow a prequel and a sequel at once.
Miss Sloane 2016
The Zookeeper's Wife 2017
Molly's Game 2017
Dark Phoenix 2019
the low point of her X-Men run.
It Chapter Two 2019
Ava 2020
didn't go straight to Netflix, but felt like it.
The Forgiven 2021
her other TIFF premiere this year, directed by John Michael McDonagh.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them 2014
with James McAvoy, directed by her former partner Ned Benson (the combined cut of his-side/her-side Him and Her).
Variety's Best Actress Predictionsas ranked by Variety, mid-September
No. 9
Belfast 2021
No. 9: Caitríona Balfe; possible category fraud, given how much the movie is the kid's.
What's Left to Look Forward To
House of Gucci 2021
The Last Duel 2021
Affleck and Damon co-wrote with Nicole Holofcener; Ridley Scott directs Jodie Comer, fresh off Free Guy.
Free Guy 2021
Top Gun: Maverick 2022
Sean's Top Five Actor Transformationsworst to best on air, best-first here
No. 1
The Queen 2006
No. 1: Helen Mirren as Elizabeth II, so uncanny it made the Queen herself interesting again.
No. 3
The Devil Wears Prada 2006
No. 2 (tie): Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly, voice modeled on Clint Eastwood.
Amanda's Top Five Actor Transformationsworst to best on air, best-first here
No. 1
The Elephant Man 1980
No. 1: John Hurt, buried under prosthetics, acting entirely with his eyes and voice.
No. 2
Raging Bull 1980
No. 2: Robert De Niro, gained and lost the weight for young and old Jake LaMotta.
Also mentioned raised along the way
In passing RomaGreen BookHustlersFree SoloThe Big SickFrankensteinThe Hours
Considered, not chosen Malcolm XThe Iron LadyThe Dark KnightI'm Not ThereElizabethElizabeth: The Golden Age
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV The CrownTed LassoThe Queen's GambitWandaVisionMayor of EasttownI May Destroy YouModern FamilyMASHAll in the FamilyMary Tyler MooreThe JeffersonsI Love LucyThe HoneymoonersThe SopranosSex and the CityScenes From a MarriageKilling Eve
Specials HamiltonBo Burnham: Inside
Games FIFA World Cup Launch Edition
Ads Boar's HeadRoeWhite Claw