I,Tonya

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2017)

"I, Tonya" is a difficult film to define, but is very creative in it's approach to the telling of Tonya Harding's story. This docudrama, is filled with funny moments of delusion and disillusionment. We can believe the words spoken by the actors, really did come from the mouths of the real life cast of characters.
We can even laugh at the incredulous justifications and interpretations of events. Meanwhile, for Harding, her boyfriend, bodyguard and mother, they expect our understanding and empathy, because "nothing was their fault".
Tonya came from a broken home with a chain-smoking, alcoholic and abusive mother who encouraged her to remain in an abusive relationship. It is amazing how far Tonya went considering the lack of support, education and poor role models in her life. She was a fighter, which contributed to her fearlessness on the ice. At the end, you feel sorry for her. Tonya was harshly judged and convicted of a crime she did not commit. Although Harding was not involved in the plot to injury Nancy Kerrigan, she paid the price for having dysfunctional people in her life. The US Figure Skating Federation ultimately won, because they never wanted Tonya to represent the USA and felt she was a stain to the image they wanted to portray.