"I, Tonya" is essentially a tragic comedy, which brings its audiences front row to what is considered to be, one of the most scathing scandal of American sports history. Its colorful cast of crazy characters, led by powerful performances from Margot Robbie and Allison Janney will have you laughing at them and feeling sorry for them at the same time. All those nominations for Robbie and Janney? Totally worth it and Allison Janney taking home accolades left and right? Not surprising.
We get introduced to Margot Robbie in 2016's "Suicide Squad" as the equally crazy and colorful Harley Quinn, well her performance as a struggling figure skater with domestic abuse and mommy issues will have you impressed and we haven't even talked about the hard work she obviously did, in order to train and learn how to skate. Those ice skating sequences are so intense, you will find yourself at the edge of your seat and holding your breath.
A bold sports biopic, unlike any other, the story (live your truth) is told in a refreshing 'mockumentary' style, interviewing the people surrounding the rise and fall of retired figure skater Tonya Harding who became famous for her renegade skating and later, infamous for her alleged involvement on the attack against her Olympic rival Nancy Kerrigan. The telling of the story (at least from the Harding camp) is so entertaining that they even push the envelope by breaking the fourth wall, with the characters speaking to the audiences themselves, cementing this "he said/she said" skating scandal further into the tragedies of urban legends and sports scandals.
We get introduced to Margot Robbie in 2016's "Suicide Squad" as the equally crazy and colorful Harley Quinn, well her performance as a struggling figure skater with domestic abuse and mommy issues will have you impressed and we haven't even talked about the hard work she obviously did, in order to train and learn how to skate. Those ice skating sequences are so intense, you will find yourself at the edge of your seat and holding your breath.
A bold sports biopic, unlike any other, the story (live your truth) is told in a refreshing 'mockumentary' style, interviewing the people surrounding the rise and fall of retired figure skater Tonya Harding who became famous for her renegade skating and later, infamous for her alleged involvement on the attack against her Olympic rival Nancy Kerrigan. The telling of the story (at least from the Harding camp) is so entertaining that they even push the envelope by breaking the fourth wall, with the characters speaking to the audiences themselves, cementing this "he said/she said" skating scandal further into the tragedies of urban legends and sports scandals.
In the film, Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) is abused in so many ways throughout her life. Her tough as nails mom, LaVona Fay Golden (Allison Janney) pushes her as a young child to become the best skater, even pulling her out of school so she can focus on her skating career.
While Tonya becomes an excellent figure skater, she can't seem to get the favor of judges in competitions, due to her "white trash" reputation and overall attitude on the skating rink.
She meets Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan -who knew the Winter Soldier can do more than dead pan, assassin?) whom she marries, despite of (or probably because of) her mother's disapproval. The cycle of abuse continues as Jeff beats Tonya relentlessly but she still keeps on coming back to him. Back on the ice, Tonya has a chance to compete in the 1994 Winter Olympics but things go up in flames as a series of unfortunate events leaves the aspiring figure skater with her dreams of love, fame and success up in smoke.
I have to talk about the beautiful music curated for the film, from the 70's, the music geek in me was very much pleased. En Vogue's "Free Your Mind" and Heart's "Barracuda" are a true reflection of Tonya's fierceness and no-apologies attitude.
ZZ Top's "Sleeping Bag" which was even used by Tonya Harding in one of her routines, rightfully makes its way to the soundtrack.
Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" is always a welcome track to enjoy as well.
There is a powerful scene in the movie for me where Tonya talks to the audience and essentially tells them that "you abused me" for every judgement, every time you found entertainment and joy in my sorry, "you hit me". It was such a powerful monologue for me and I couldn't help but feel, yes sorry for her and guilty at the same time.
You can tell that all she ever wanted was to be loved and in a life filled with abuse, she probably confused love with fame and unfortunately in a society hungry for the latest pearl-grabbing scandal, love and fame oftentimes becomes blurred, as this tragic comedy shows us.
8.5 out of 10 - "I, Tonya" uses comedy to tell a tragic tale, you will laugh and you will be entertained but you will also feel the pain of love lost and dreams shattered. It is not a Cinderella story, on the contrary Cinderella is still in her ragged clothes, sweeping dirt and soot.
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