I, Tonya

Far more interesting than the figure skating itself here is the portrayal of Tonya's struggle with public opinion and her pathetic effort to improve her visual self-presentation on the ice. Whereas her toxic yet rather ambiguous relationship with both her mother and her own husband is a chapter unto itself. It can't go without notice that Margot Robbie has notably porked up and "gotten ugly" for this role so her performance as an American hillbilly can be properly authentic. When you think of Margot Robbie in any other film, the contrast between her usual beauty and the unattractiveness she has here is almost adorable. Craig Gillespie has an exquisite flair for engagingly portraying key scenes, which is already evident in the opening on the ice, when a fuming mother in the middle of the rink pushes her four-year-old daughter "to teach her a lesson". The fact that the individual characters are portrayed rather contradictorily, and that you’re rooting for the film itself rather than the protagonist, moves the whole narrative into uncharted waters as far as autobiographical adaptations are concerned. [85%] (19/04/2022)

Yeah, I remember the controversy around Tonya Harding, but it was interesting to see the story background. Based on the title of the film, I was expecting a drama about how some athletes will do anything to participate in the Olympics. The story was weirdly fragmented, though, as if the filmmakers wanted to handle multiple themes at once, not fully focusing on any one of them. Despite some reservations, I was intrigued by the film, Shawn and his boys took care of the laughs, and I particularly enjoyed the mother-daughter relationship portrayed by Allison Janney and Margot Robbie. (01/07/2018)

I didn't think I was going to be that entertained by this film, but given the way it is shot and the performances in particular (Margot Robbie and the incredibly exuberant Allison Janney, not to mention little McKenna, who shines everywhere, even if only for a moment in this film), I had to smile and just enjoy myself the entire time, also because of how interestingly the film is shot. (24/01/2018)

Every year you think there cannot be another Olympic story you don’t know yet and still the creators always dig up something new. However, the figure skater Tonya Harding did not have a life story that one should brag about. On the other hand, it is so unbelievable that it would be a shame if we didn’t learn more about it. The film was lucky as it got creators who filmed it truly authentically. For example, you will not recognize Margot Robbie at all. She turned from a pretty actress into an American small-town bitch who loves figure skating and everything else bothers her. The fact that her husband beats her here and there won’t stop her from being famous one day, right? However, the human stupidity can stop her, and I have to say that I wouldn’t be able to invent a more interesting story of an Olympic athlete. The second half of the movie was truly unbelievable. I was just bating my breath while watching how far a person can go. (21/01/2018)

It's hard to see such a wonderfully brisk, energetic and above all entertaining biopic, and the almost Coen-like humor suits this real, yet barely believable story immensely. The same can be said of the soundtrack, which almost perfectly underlines the dynamics of the narrative. The American figure skater Tonya Harding grew up a poor redneck with a psychopathic mother and a father who ran away from them. Her childhood was simply unhappy. Probably for these reasons she didn't look very feminine on the ice, but she was an excellent jumper of her time. I have to admit that Margot Robbie in the title role and Allison Janney as the tough mother really got under my skin, playing their roles so convincingly. (95%) (22/03/2023)