Moi, Tonya

Anyone who was old enough to be sucked in by the media circus that this scandal turned into should make it a point to take a look at this film, in my opinion.

The media seemed much more about the sensationalism of it all than it was about maintaining the kind of objective balance that'd presume Tonya's innocence until evidence proved otherwise. But being honest, even if evidence came along that absolved Harding of any wrongdoing in the Kerrigan attack, how happy would the media have been to report it? Or would we have been to hear it? Because we've got to admit that, although it might not seem very nice, there was quite a bit of fun to be had during the couple months we spent focusing on this Hillbilly girl and her bumbling husband, right? Well with that in mind, what would the thought of her innocence have brought, other than damage to the narrative we were having such fun with? Regardless of where you stand in regards to her innocence, its only fair to acknowledge that her role had been laid out for her pretty much from the get-go. Kerrigan was its hero the moment she became the victim, could we have honestly entertained the notion that maybe Harding wasn't as much the villain as seemed to befit the story? How fun would that have been? Really?

In the last couple months, the articles about this upcoming movie had comment sections riddled with people mostly bemoaning the current state of Hollywood. Not the scandals, but that it'd even stoop so low as to peddle this kind of white trash story. "White trash" came up repeatedly of course, and while comment sections generally aren't the place to find the best sampling of voices, I personally wasn't able to find a single comment that was anything other than damningly derivative of Hollywood and/or Tonya...certainly not one suggesting the possibility that maybe there was more to this story than what we already knew. But that was always a possibility, wasn't it? The telling of a side that we hadn't heard?

After seeing the flick last night, I passed along my recommendation of it to a friend, commenting that Tonya Harding's guilt might have to be re-thought. In response, I got a chuckling, "Oh I have a hard time believing that!" Which, sure that has to be the prevailing opinion, I'd imagine. But why? Do we really and truly think that we have the kind of information on the subject that'd allow for the most objective, fact-based decision on it? Have many of us ever stopped long enough to have wondered whether or not we did? The line of questioning isn't likely to be met with much more than scoffs by those who've yet to view the movie, but they're questions that end up being well begged and something that the same people may find themselves unwittingly exploring afterward. I sure have been.

In the meantime, this isn't just a great movie, but a great sports movie, detailing an ice skating prodigy who love for skating drove her life, and whose life ultimately served as a testament to just how influential a class system can be that many of us are barely cognizant of even existing. Based off interviews and testimony from the key players in the Kerrigan scandal, watching it brings a much needed sense of balance to the story and will likely leave you amazed at how easily the truth can be blurred when viewed through the lens of sensationalized media coverage.

10/10, great movie that grabs you from its opening scene and will have you entranced throughout.

Why relevant? Until I saw this movie, in my point of view Tonya Harding was a cheat and a lowlife and this was entirely based on the media coverage of the events in 1994. Having seen the movie I feel ashamed about how easily I judged her and I realised I have to be way more careful in forming my opinion about people.

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.

Man, I personally found this one to be an exceedingly uncomfortable watch.

"I, Tonya" is cleverly filmed as a pseudo-documentary, featuring re-enactments of the real-life interviews of most of the participants in this true-life drama. I recently bitterly criticised some film critics for spoiling the story of Donald Crowhurst, the subject of the recent "The Mercy". But I was about to do exactly the same here, *assuming* that you all know the lurid tale of the rivalry between Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan that led up to an 'event' in 1994 that shocked the world. And of course, many of you younger folk don't know: case in point my 26 year old son who I went to see this with, and who went into the story blissfully blind of the drama about to unfold. So I will try to keep this review spoiler-free.

Playing Tonya from a (not very credible!) 15 years old to her mid-20's is Margot Robbie ("The Wolf of Wall Street", "Suicide Squad") in what is a BAFTA and Oscar nominated performance. And for good reason: the performance is raw, visceral and disturbing in reflecting a victim who still thinks everything at heart is her own fault.

Also BAFTA and Oscar nominated is Allison Janney ("The Girl on the Train") as Tonya's obnoxious chain-smoking mother LaVona. Janney is truly terrifying as the mother who abuses her daughter both physically and mentally in a driven attempt to make her the best ice-skater in the world.

Victims seem to attract abusers, and Tonya is surrounded by people who are just plain bad for her: notably her husband Jeff (Sebastian Stan, "The Martian", "Captain America: Winter Soldier") and his slimy and pitifully self-deluded friend Shawn (Paul Walter Hauser). The end credits video footage of the real-life players show just how well these parts were cast.

Why so uncomfortable to watch? There is a significant degree of domestic abuse featured in the film, both in terms of LaVona on her child and Jeff on his wife. This is something I abhor in general, having been brought up to believe it is never EVER acceptable to lay a hand on a woman. To have these cowardly individuals sensationalised in the movie I found to be really upsetting. I strongly feel, for this reason alone, that the film should have had an 18 certificate. Violence in film should be related to the context as well as the severity. (Note that this is in stark contrast to my comments of recent BBFC decisions to make "Phantom Thread" and "Lady Bird" 15-certificates when I believe they should have been 12A).

The film is executed extremely well, with 4:3 framing for the staged interviews, and ice skating scenes that seamlessly cut between the professional clearly doing the stunts and Robbie (who must also be a half decent skater too). The soundtrack is nicely littered - "Guardians of the Galaxy" style - with classic hits of the early 90's.

To think that this story actually unfolded in this way is nothing short of astounding... but it did! There is an astonishing video clip here (#spoilers) of the run up to, and the immediate aftermath of, the Kerrigan incident. I came out of the film with a deep feeling of sadness for Harding (at least, as portrayed) and utter disgust that the villains of this piece could be a) so cruel and out of control and b) so utterly stupid. These are individuals who really should have been sterilised to stop them polluting the gene pool any further.

Written by Steven Rogers ("Stepmom") and directed by Australian Craig Gillespie, there is no doubting that this is a powerful film: played to an absolutely silent and gripped Saturday night cinema audience. And it has truly dynamite performances from Allison Janney and Margot Robbie. But be warned that you'll need a strong stomach to go and see it without being affected by it afterwards. It's a mental keeper.

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.