Review of I, Tonya (2017) by Teddy F — 03 Feb 2018

The performances alone make I, Tonya worth seeing in theaters, but it is the movie's excellent use of tone and black comedy that make it worth remembering. Having been born after Tonya's height in popularity, I did not know anything beyond what the trailers for the film showed me about her; this means I also had absolutely no preconceptions of Tonya Harding going into this film, making my mind a blank canvas. After having finished seeing the film, I do feel significantly more knowledgeable about the whole story as the movie does not choose sides and just shows everything that went on; I, Tonya does more than recount the "incident" and the world's reaction of it, it is a complete biographical piece on Tonya Harding's early life. From her marriage at a young age, to her struggle climbing the ice skating ranks due to her appearance, to the abusive relationship she shared with her mother, the film gives well-rounded coverage on Harding's life as a whole. The audience gets to know Tonya Harding at a much more personal level than ever before.

Lead actress and co-producer Margot Robbie shines as Tonya Harding, excelling in creating a character that the audience cannot decide if they love or hate. While I largely felt sympathy towards Tonya throughout the film, Robbie is able to go from being the victim to being the aggressor in a matter of seconds and nails the role of the controversial figure skater. In scenes with Sebastian Stan as her husband, Jeff, and in scenes with Allison Janney as her mother, LaVona, Robbie faces the abuse they dish out with authenticity; no matter how much they hurt her, she keeps coming back. Two scenes with Robbie struck me in particular: one where she tries to cheer herself up in front of a mirror before going out on ice, where she puts on her make-up and holds back tears, and another scene in the latter half of the film where she is given her sentence for withholding 'knowledge' regarding the "Nancy Kerrigan incident". Both these scenes reminded me to why professional actors and actresses are paid so much to simply act in front of a camera; what they can pull off, and at the believability they can do it, is incredible. However, the true scene-stealer was Allison Janney. Janney played Tonya's abusive mother LaVona and is a force to be reckoned with. Having no real example to go off of, Janney makes LaVona an intimidating and intense woman, who is so undeniably cruel to her daughter, one must wonder what drove her to do what she did? LaVona ends up a mystery and Janney deserves the Golden Globe she won. Rounding out the supporting cast is Sebastian Stan and Paul Walter Hauser, who play Jeff, Tonya's husband, and Shawn, Jeff's best friend/Tonya's 'ex-bodyguard'. Stan serves primarily as a hindrance to Tonya and her career, constantly exiting and reentering her life, despite the few sweet moments they share. Meanwhile, Hauser as Shawn Eckhardt, plays a man who is a nobody and when he sees his chance for fame, he takes it; Hauser is the best source of comic relief in the film. The performances given by the cast are entirely supplementary to the film.

I, Tonya is not your typical comedy, and the script makes sure of that. The comedy provided is of darker undertones and is less about making jokes and more about the outrageousness of the situations that occurred. The script as a whole is well-written, and when it could have condescended the film's characters and the people in the real world like them (of course, the characters are real as well), it instead makes them more relatable to outside audiences and is generally sympathetic or "real" with the people it displays. I, Tonya does not mock Tonya, far from it actually, and if you go into the film hating her you might be surprised by the way you feel when it's all said and done. The only real problem I had with I, Tonya is after having watched it, I fail to see the "so what factor". Maybe it was to educate people like me who have no clue about what happened (my damn youth) or maybe it was to make Tonya Harding seem like a better person; whatever it was, the movie's purpose and what it wanted to say is murky. Because of this, and a lack of laugh out loud moments, I have little reason to return to this movie.

I, Tonya is a complete film, with tremendous performances, a clever script, and a balanced approach to the subject; I would say I, Tonya is a film you should see once.