Review: I, Tonya

“Stunning performances from the cast, but the more the film tries to be creative and innovative to avoid being just another bio flick, the more the film keeps you from fully engrossing yourself in the plot.”

Margot Robbie gives a standout performance as Tonya Harding, bringing a touch of her Harley Quinn, but with so much more as she captures the crazy life of a troubled person who still managed to rise to the top of a sport she was never really suited to being part of.

The other cast are very good in capturing their characters as well. Sebastian Stan is great as a pathetic and very dis-likeable husband but he keeps us from completely hating Gillooly, despite his terrible actions of abuse. This helps give us an understanding of how he stayed in Tonya’s life, even in her more focused portion of her life as she worked very hard to prepare for her second Olympics.

Another top performance comes from Allison Janney, playing the very unlikeable mother.

The skating scenes are fantastic. Robbie has performed well on the ice, as has the effects crew who have seamlessly merged Robbie and body doubles, and also some special effects to achieve the almost impossible move that made Harding famous.

Where the film falls down is one two fronts. First the narrative is messy, as it (openly) bases itself on very inconsistent recollections from Harding and Gillooly. However, the film focuses mostly on Harding’s view point, and as a result, it feels messy in occasionally adding scenes from Gillooly’s perspective.

The second problem lies with the style of the narrative. The quasi documentary style, inter-cutting interviews between the story, is cute at first, but after a while they become distracting and pull you out of the story, leaving you unable to fully immerse yourself in the story and connect with the characters. The use of comedy is also somewhat out of place in such an abusive setting. Occasional timelines and alternative versions of the same scene also make for a slightly jarring experience. Whilst enjoyable, it does distract somewhat from what was an interesting story. The narrative is also weakened by the fact that ‘the incident’ isn’t really a big enough moment for the film to build towards.

All that aside, it’s still well worth a look. It doesn’t stand up to some of the other 2018 true stories (Molly’s Game, Darkest Hour, All the Money in the World) but it is worth the price of admission just for Margot Robbie in a possible Oscar winning performance (although I’d probably give it to Frances McDormand. Sorry Australia).