Well, with this horrible weather we’re currently experiencing, seeing ‘I, Tonya’ was a well-timed affair. Telling the shockingly true story of ice skater Tonya Harding and her madcap career, it is a brilliantly creative black comedy drama about brutally cold-hearted characters.
The film is presented in a truly bizarre way, mixing between fake talking heads from the characters, and drama from the time, all while often also breaking the forth wall. The events of the film too are greatly dramatised. In the talking heads, the characters often admit that the events being shown didn’t actually happen, but ultimately all this did was add to the humour and bizarre tone of the film.
With such fantastic characters on show, it was crucial that the performances did them justice, and boy did they. Margot Robbie is brilliant as Tonya, with fantastic bitterness and brutality. Playing her husband is Sebastian Stan, who, as he jokes, does sport a highly questionable moustache. Perhaps the best performance, however, is from Allison Janney. Playing Tonya’s mother, she is so utterly horrible and yet hilarious aswell.
One downside is that the film did feel slightly bloated, despite being under two hours long. I felt that the films fast pace eventually caught up with itself, and began to slow a bit. However, that is not to say that you should leave before the end, as it does find its grit and strength for its final scenes. And the credits are also entertaining, showing clips from the real interviews that this mad story is based on.
With a great soundtrack that includes The Chain, Spirit in The Sky and Devil Woman, the film is very enjoyable, and while I’m confident in saying it won’t win many of the awards it has been nominated for, it is still definitely worth a watch.
Daniel Robinson: From Reel to Real 