I, Tonya

... because I just remember everybody actually involved being so unlikable. This caustic true-story comedy-drama tells the story of Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie), the champion figure skater who came from a hardscrabble background, raised by an abusive mother (Allison Janney), but overcoming the odds to rise to the top of her sport, only to see it come crashing down thanks to the criminal activity of her dim-witted husband Jeff (Sebastian Stan).

I'm old enough to recall the story well enough, and I didn't really care about it then, let alone now, and I've never been a fan of figure skating. However, I am once again pleasantly surprised with how good the resulting movie is. Robbie and Stan, two of the prettiest people in movies these days, do a good job of deglamorizing themselves. Robbie is fierce, a description I am loathe to use as it's overused, but it really fits here. Janney got an Oscar for Supporting Actress, and she's also "uglied up", and her character is completely reprehensible. In fact, most of the people are in this movie, and there's a lot of coarse language and violence, particularly spousal abuse both by and from Harding. The film doesn't really have a message, as it's more of a character study and a sad-but-true tale of shattered dreams. It's also very well acted, darkly funny, and occasionally moving.

The rollercoaster of American skater Tonya Harding, a super talented and successful skater, who will always be known for one incident in particular.

What an absolutely first class movie this was, prior to this I knew nothing about Tonya Harding, after watching this I felt like I'd learned a lot, and been thoroughly entertained, it even encouraged me to seek out videos of her, visually, they got it spot on, from what I've seen of her, they also got her story spot on.

An immaculate production, they got the era absolutely spot on, and it was out together in such a way, that it absolute flies by, it's so well paced.

It's funny, it's moving, it's quite shocking, I won't give too much away about the incident, and I won't dwell on it too much, but it really is a shocking moment, one which will leave you speechless.

Margot Robbie delivers an award winning performance, I know she's an actress, and will have no doubt learned how to perform all number of accents, but she absolutely nails it. I had no idea that Robbie could skate, clearly she could.

Allison Janney and the whole cast were terrific. That mother of Tonya's was quite something.

9/10.

After seeing the preview I knew I would love this. Margot Robbie and Allison Janney were both impressive. I have to say, I was really surprised by Robbie! I checked out a few interviews with the real Tonya and her mother. Seems like Robbie and Janney really nailed them.

I was going to make a list of people who made extraordinary things during the same period that Tonya Harding monopolized the headlines but then I thought it was a pointless exercise. Charles Manson will always be more famous, much more than Sharon Tate. That's the world we live in or maybe it always was. The sadness verging on horror of of the Tonya Harding story will win, fascination wise, than any kind of kindness from anyone anywhere. Now that out of my system let me say that I Tonya is an entertaining harrowing tale directed by Craig Gillespie and his extraordinary cinematographer Nicholas Karakatsanis with, clearly, Martin Scorsese in their minds and hearts. Margot Robbie is terrific and Sebastian Stan as the husband from hell, superb but it's Allison Janney that creates a character that is impossible to take and irresistible at the same time. She is spectacular. So, that's more than enough to recommend I Tonya but if the Tabloid Times is something you subscribe I will highly recommend Gus Van Sant's To Die For and Michael Ritchie's made for television The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom.

Have been anticipating this release for quite some time. Why? Well I love a good biopic, the cast immediately attracted my attention and it's figure skating. Not often you see an ice skating film. Thankfully, this was bonkers and I loved the fact it was crazily stupid. Tonya Harding was famous for being a bad tempered figure skater in the 90's. This biopic triple axels (oh God I'm too good...) into her family and marital relationships, as well as exploring "the incident". A timely release considering the Winter Olympics, showcasing the grace and endurance required for figure skating. Pushing the sport aside, the focus is primarily on Tonya and her marriage to Jeff whilst intertwining her tough upbringing by her mother. Seemingly Tonya is portrayed to be spoilt and a fame seeker, but I consistently sympathised with her. Her pure skating talent being diminished by judges due to her presentation skills and media attention to the sport. It's a harsh reality, and the film made me feel for her. Played eloquently by Margot Robbie who was able to capture both her solid exterior and emotional vulnerability. Allison Janney was outstanding as the straight talking mother from hell who just loves to throw kitchen utensils at her own daughter (seriously...what the hell). I wished the story delved into their relationship further, just so she could have more screen time. Sebastian Stan also deserves recognition as he conveys both anger and love perfectly. Gillespie's directing style was interesting. Some nice one take edits and the figure skating segments were electrifying, albeit with a noticeable green screen. They tried too hard changing the traditional biopic formula by making it quirky. Consistently breaking the fourth wall, mixing narratives, embedding an interview with a linear plot. It works, however the constant use of these grew tiresome especially for a two hour runtime. Having said that, the plot never skates on thin ice and glides along swiftly. This is Robbie's baby, she and the film deserve recognition.