Honest and Brutal

Rating: 9/10 (10 April 2018)

The word honest is used here as a reflection on the honesty of the characters in who they are. We will of course never really know whether she was indeed involved to the extent as stated.
If anything the film really gave the characters involved their chance to lay it all to rest and set the record straight as it were.
But more than that - it is an in depth character study of those key players in the infamous scandal and what happened for them to reach that breaking point so to speak.
The actors and actresses do not hold back with their characteristic and comedic portrayals and at times can be rather brutal - Allison Janney anyone?! It really is a triumph in terms of acting, script and the production of a true story - the story itself in its retelling could have gone either way but the screenplay was impressive and pushed our actors talents to their limits - especially the excellent Margot Robbie, who is almost unrecognizable in her portrayal.
Cinematography was stylish and made use of a toned down filter in colour schemes which reflected the late 80's/early 90's well and really set the scene.
The humour doesn't miss a beat and is cleverly dry, inserting some serious moments in between.
We feel genuinely sorry for Margot Robbie's, Harding as a woman who was consistently up against something and someone throughout her life - at points tough to watch but never drowning in it's own self-indulgence, it hits all the right beats and draws emotion for a character who was chastised mercilessly without clear cut evidence to implicate her in the crimes she was judged for. Not to say that what she did was right, she was involved in some wrongs, how much we will never know, but one thing we do know is she was one hell of a skater who fought for approval with every stride and triple axel.