An insider view of Tonya Harding

Rating: 7/10 (24 September 2017)

Tonya Harding is known in figure skating as the 1st woman to land a Triple Axel in competition, but also for her involvement in the physical attack on fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan. This docu-drama is based on interviews from Tonya, her mother, her coach, and some of the co-conspirators, mixing them with re-creations and some historic footage. It shows the difficulty of a poor kid battling into a sport dominated by upper-middle class princesses. While mostly taking the word of the interviewees, the director inserts hints that Tonya may not be as innocent as she claims. There is also an interesting undermining of Tonya's complaint about Nancy being despondent about winning silver at the 1994 Olympics - listen for the placing announcements before the final skate.
This film is 1st runner-up for the People's Choice Awards at the Toronto International Film Festival. However, for me it was marred by the use of music with lyrics at her 1st skating competition, something that would not have been allowed. On the flip side, I can accept the switch in music after she succeeds in her historic Triple Axel, as a switch from skating music to internal emotion.