Smooth as Ice

Rating: 10/10 (16 April 2018)

Before I saw this film I had a passing understanding of the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. I'd heard about it in passing, the occasional reference on some show. All of this had occurred before I was born and I had negative interest in anything vaguely related to ice skating.
"I, Tonya" is one of the most enthralling, absorbing, and darkly hilarious films released in the past few years. Gillespie has crafted a punchy, fast paced, visceral experience in the form of relationship drama, ice skating, and white trash. His mastery over speed, camera movement, and sparse use of slow-mo turn the ice skating scenes from spectacle to euphoria, tapping into the rhythm, specific movements, and flow. Beyond the captivating ice skating scenes are the familial and interpersonal scenes between Tonya (Margot Robbie), Jeff (Sebastian Stan), Lavona (Allison Janey), and the hilariously incompetent Sean (Paul Walter Houser). It's hard to describe just how well these actors meld together. Intense scenes of domestic violence and screaming matches are punctuated with interview footage of the characters years after the incident. It highlights the outstanding acting of the cast, as well as the brilliance of the sharp editing.
I have no shame in saying that the Best Actress Oscar was stolen from Margot Robbie. The dynamism in her performance, the ability to be a rosy cheeked hopeful, as well as a horrific vision of stress and madness, is just astounding. The raw emotion in the scenes when confronting her abusive mother and abusive husband is gut wrenching. You feel Tonya's fear, you understand her plight, and you feel nothing but sorrow for her. The struggle for success matched with the anger of the people around Tonya comes through as clear as an unmuddied lake. Alongside Robbie there is Allison Janey who played Lavona Harding with tangible malice. Her sharp tongue, quick wit, and total apathy towards anything except her and her daughter, again, come through clear. Jeff Gilooly is brought to tremendously hilarious, as well as uncomfortable, life by Sebastian Stan, showcasing his ability to be more than just a Marvel accessory.
The real praise lies with the character of Sean, Gilooly's partner in crime. Hilarious, astoundingly idiotic, and so ironically egotistical that it's hard to believe such a man lived on this Earth. Paul Walter Houser embodied this man, only compounded by the showing of actual archive footage at the end of the film. Truly a performance for the ages in all the right ways.
On every level "I, Tonya" succeeds. Performance, camera work, music, editing, writing, all of it. Memorable scenes from start to finish, I could sing this films praises for hours and hours, instead I'll keep it short and simply say, see it.