The season of good movies continues. Here's another one that I devoured with my eyes, and recommend!

Rating: 8/10 (10 February 2018)

Who needs traditional sports movies when there's a new mini-trend emerging to get ride of any old "classical" approach and concentrate on the actual pain and madness behind the life of the champions? I liked "Borg McEnroe" a lot, and I pretty much love "I, Tonya"!
Based on a true story, it's about an American figure skating star Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) of the 1980's and early '90s who's too white trash-y to be taken seriously by her peers, and her life choices turn out to be so damaging that she's banned from professional skating forever.
Robbie is nothing short of sensational as Harding but it's not just about her. "I, Tonya" is hands down one of the best ensemble movies that I've seen recently, and there's been quite a number of them.
You may remember the rising star Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn of "Suicide Squad" - the only memorable thing from this abysmal superhero effort -, but you wouldn't probably recognize any other name from the cast.
But there's so many incredibly enjoyable performances that I just have to give shout outs also to Alison Janney as Tonya's stone cold ever-hateful mother, Sebastian Stan as Tonya's impulsive and violent husband, and Paul Walter Hauser as Tonya's "bodyguard", one of the most brilliant comic relief type of performances that one could think of.
It's amazing how, on one hand, everybody feels like such a black and white cartoon figure, and on the other hand, like a real person.
There's also Bobby Cannavale - the only one besides Robbie whose face you might remember easily from other movies or series - but his contribution seems wasted by the creative team behind the project.
Cannavale has great presence and he's super charismatic as usual but the character has so little screen time and importance that it could have been replaced by voice-over or just let somebody mention him in passing. Sad.
In fact, not making the most of the material is the only thing that I would call the weakness of the movie - and why I wouldn't give it even higher score.
It's not that the storytelling is lazy but Cannavale is not the only thing that's been added to the story just to be thrown aside carelessly.
For example, I find it most curious indeed that Tonya has four siblings but they get mentioned once and otherwise have zero participation in the story. It would be reasonable to show at least something about their lives, even if they were not part of Tonya's life.
On the other hand, the storytelling is enriched by the inventive technique to sometimes speak directly to the audience even during the busiest of scenes, without losing the momentum or spoiling the atmosphere. Impressive use of breaking the fourth wall, as they say.
I also love the production design - how the 1980-90's lower working class American dream looks like. As period pieces go, this is great work in its own right.
All in all, I just loved "Tonya". There's a great number of movies aiming for sassiness and feeling energetic, but director Craig Gillespie and writer Steven Rogers have managed to raise these qualities to a new level, or at least to a league of its own.
Judging by this movie, the old spiritual observation that being poor can make you more alive - living in constant need will make good things more vibrant and enjoyabble - seems 100% true.
There's something irresistible about the atmosphere of "Tonya", all this mobile and restless energy just glues the attention on the screen.
"I, Tonya" is nominated for 3 Oscars: Robbie as the actress, Janney as the supporting actress (she already won the Golden Globe for this) and the editing. All three seem award-worthy on their own, although the competition is strong in each category.
So, I don't know what to tell you. Go see it, if you haven't already. It's captivating, always ertertaining and has a lot of punch. One of the more "alive" films of the year.
Just like Harding at her prime, the authors have made most of their strongest materials and left some other bits hanging. But who's to whine if the result is so winsome!