"Everyone has their own truth." My truth: this stylistic triple axel of a film will take you for a spin.

Rating: 7/10 (23 February 2019)

Margot Robbie and Allison Janney are a devilish duo that make this stylistic mock-doc biopic in a word-of-mouth presentation infused with '80's style and sound shimmer.
The film is an unflinching look into the life of Tonya Harding before, during, and after her infamous 'incident' involving Nancy Kerrigan before the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1994. But while a lot of films that are 'based on true events' often present themselves in a very wary and questionable way, this film makes no attempt to head or misguide your judgment on the real, or even ambiguous, events portrayed. While the film opens with the statement, "Based on irony free, wildly contradictory, totally true interviews with Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly." Seeing as how Harding and Gillooly presented vastly different stories, it feels as though her innocence is not forced upon the viewer; however, her possible motives are displayed on the screen.
Robbie fills Harding's skates with an encumbering exuberance that draws you in to her character. With Robbie producing the film as well it is very clear she was invested to this role and it shines through in her performance, making her Oscar nomination very obvious.
Harding's early life in rural Oregon, as portrayed by the film, was riddled with the disapproval of her over-bearing mother LaVona Golden (played by Janney). Janney's portrait of Golden is painted in greatness as Janney embodies the character in what seems like a natural fit. Providing the film with its most powerful scenes, along with comically dark and prudent dialogue. One of the titular scenes with Janney is when she first gets her daughter enrolled in figure skating. The scene has an incredulous feeling of the '80's, with Golden smoking on the ice while Cliff Richard's "Devil Woman" polishes the scene off with a comfy finesse. This eventually leads to a line that distinguishes Harding's character; Golden is arguing with Harding's coach, Diane Rawlinson (played by Julianne Nicholson), about her not fitting in with the "rich, prissy" types that are typically expected of figure skaters. Golden states her daughter can do triple axels and adds, "She doesn't fit in. She stands out."
Another scene between Harding and Golden later in the film emerges as the centerpiece of both Robbie and Janney's performances in the film. The interaction between mother and daughter in a cafÃ© is hauntingly real and drenched in emotion. With Golden, rather explicitly, explaining to Harding that she gave her a gift delivering the line, "I made you a champion, knowing you'd hate me. That's the sacrifice a mother makes!" To which Harding's response is, "You cursed me."
Janney sends chills with her execution of a shameless and distant parent, making it evident why she won an Oscar for her role, and the relation feels real between the two actors on screen.
A lot of scenes felt like they were shot with a lot of thought behind them, such as the scene with her mother on the ice and one later where they explain her history of domestic abuse with intriguing 4th wall breaks. While other scenes fall flat, specifically when she fires her coach in the locker room it felt as though a lot of emotion was lost in the presentation of the scene. But for the scenes it worked, it worked well. Along with the fast-paced and smooth editing, it creates a very interesting and fluent tale. This seems fitting when you realize Director Craig Gillespie and Editor Tatiana S. Riegel had previously worked on the 2011 remake of the 1985 cult film Fright Night, both films have a similar feel.
Overall, I, Tonya is an enjoyable ride, littered with sweet tunes, and dark humour. Harding's character may not be portrayed as likeable but you begin to feel a sense of empathy for her by the end. It is interesting to witness a glaring example of how the sports world always has its scandals, which often become bigger than the sport itself, and how the least expected sport can be ground zero for one of the biggest in history.

-NickMac