Review of I, Tonya (2017) by Garry A — 11 Jan 2018

This acclaimed Tonya Harding biopic is the first major disappointment of 2018 for me. While the acting on display, is nothing less than exemplary, in particular Margot Robbie in the titular role, it has at least three major flaws that ruin the experience.

Firstly, the casting - while Robbie is a fine, fine actor, she is miscast here. The whole dynamic of the Harding story, is she couldn't compete with her contemporaries at the time, in terms of looking like your typical figure skater, and although they have tried to 'ugly up' Margot here, she is still stunning, which loses that element of the narrative somewhat.

Secondly, the film wants to be a Scorsese flick, but it tries far too hard. The soundtrack is completely out of place, trying to force music from the 70s and 80s into a film set in the 90s. More importantly, the director doesn't have the deft touch necessary to constantly break the 'fourth wall' every other scene (with characters talking to the audience far too many times for it to be effective), while continuing with both a constant narration, and having intercut interview sequences. It is a muddle. It feels like the director doesn't trust his own storytelling skill and is relying on spelling everything out to the audience.

Finally, the tone is wildly off target. The film strives to be a serious, gritty retelling of the story, but is shot with a flippant almost slapstick style at times. This is particularly problematic during the moments of domestic abuse suffered by Harding. The attempts at 'humour' while watching her husband batter her, are just plain awkward to watch and ill thought-out. While Allison Janney (as Harding's mother) steals every scene she features in; again, there is a levity to her performance that undermines the seriousness of the violence on screen, and her own behaviour towards her daughter, which just feels out of place.