Jessica Chastain redeems a televangelist in ‘Tammy Faye’

NEW YORK (AP) — In “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” Jessica Chastain gives perhaps the most ambitious performance of her career so far. For the widely admired actor of “The Tree of Life,” “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Help,” it’s the first time she’s tackled a decades-spanning biopic with all the transformative trappings — the make-up, the prosthetics, the accent. It’s a big swing. The performance, flamboyant and empathetic, has immediately put Chastain into the Academy Awards conversation. She has twice before been nominated but never won. Searchlight Pictures releases “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” in theaters Friday.