"I was loved... for a minute"

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2018)

"I, Tonya" (2017 release; 121 min.) is a bio-pic about the life and times of (in)famous figure skater Tonya Harding. As the movie opens, we are reminded the movie is "based on irony-free, wildly contradicting and totally true interviews with Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly". After some current-day interview excerpts of them and others, we then go back to "Portland, Oregon 40 Years Ago", where we get to know Tonya as a 4 year old, along with her all-too-soon absent father and her abusive mother, the latter pushing Tonya into figure skating. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself hoe it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from director Craig Gillespie, who most recently brought us the excellent "Their Finest Hours". Here, in conjunction with Margot Robbie's production company, he brings the "truth" as to what "really" happened in 1994, when Nancy Kerrigan was whacked on the knee in the run-up of the upcoming nationals and then Olympics. But the movie is about so much more than that. Harding was "white trash", as was everyone around her. It breaks your heart to see her being abused, physically and psychologically, time and again, by the people around her, when all she really wants is some TLC. "I was loved... for a minute", laments Harding on more than one occasion. The movie's approach is wild, and wildly entertaining, where characters address the audience directly on numerous occasions. Margot Robbie is outstanding in the title role. Is that really Robbie in the skating sequences? If so, wow... But equally impressive is Allison Janney in the utterly unlikable role as Tonya's abusive mom. How can a mother end up so cruel as to her own daughter? It's a topic worth examining further in and of itself... The movie features a ton of great song placements, which only increase the viewing experience in the best possible way. "I, Tonya" is clearly inn line to do quite well in the upcoming awards season, and deservedly so (Janney already won a Golden Globe for her performance).
"I, Tonya" premiered at last Fall's Toronto International Film Festival to immediate critical acclaim, and is now finally getting a wider release. The Thursday evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay (for a weekday evening). I can only imagine that this movie will benefit from the sure positive word-of-mouth that audiences will give this. If you are in the mood for a wildly entertaining bio-pic about a controversial figure skater who never stood a chance, be it in figure skating or in life for that matter, you will not want to miss this. "I, Tonya" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!