Engrossing comic biographical film - and wonderfully entertaining!

Rating: 9/10 (22 March 2018)

"I, Tonya", a portrait of infamous Olympic ice skater Tonya Harding, is one of 2017's most entertaining films. Directed by Craig Gillespie, it is an iconoclastic biographical comedy that is a brilliant mix of mockumentary-style film clips and interviews interspersed with dramatic sequences, figure skating scenes, and humorous moments in which the actors break the fourth wall and talk to the audience.
The acting is incredible. Australian Margot Robbie has finally nabbed her most important role playing Harding masterfully, but it might be Allison Janney as Harding's sadistic, abusive mother LaVona that might be burned into your memory the most. Real-life villains this memorably heartless are rare for seasoned actors to find. I daresay one look at a photo of Janney in the part with her steely crow's eyes staring through cycloid eyeglasses, oxygen tubes in her nose, short choppy boyish hair, and wearing a seedy old fur with a grumpy parrot perched on her shoulder, and you'll never forget her.
Beautifully scripted as well as directed, the key to the film's success might be its editing that superbly forms a cohesive biographical portrait allowing us deep into Tonya Harding's skin, something that might make one pause. Yet while the film is fair in portraying her flaws, it takes no cheap shots, and shows admiration for her tenacity and skill. Don't miss this.