The behind the scenes story of the infamous Tonya Harding, who became famous first for her amazing figure skating, and later for her role in the attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan.
Rating
Violence: Yes
Sex: Yes
Language: yes
I, Tonya states right up front that the movie contains several conflicting points of view from the participants. Some of the film is in the form of interviews with the main participants in the story, while much of the movie goes over the familiar ground of the story adding background to help us understand Tonya Harding as more a victim than a devil.
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I remember following the story as it unfolded in the mid 90s, and had little sympathy for Harding and her scheming husband and incompetent body guard. Still, the films intimate picture of Hardy’s upbringing with her ruthless mother (an Oscar winning performance by Allison Janney) does give insight into the coming train wreck and media circus.
While billed as a comedy, the movie is very dark in places, but it is a compelling, can’t take your eyes off the screen film. Margot Robbie is terrific in her role, and even the smaller parts in the movie are terrifically believable.
I came away from watching I, Tonya with some sympathy for Harding, but because there are so many conflicting points of view it’s hard to know what to believe. Maybe that’s the point.
As a movie experience, I, Tonya is a terrific two hours. It’s a perfect blend of acting, directing and photography. Some will find it muddled, is it comedy or tragedy? Actually it’s both. Don’t miss it.
The film looks crisp and colorful. There is a lot of CGI work but it is pretty seamless. Margot Robbie did a lot of skating for the movie, but the hard stunts were done with a double whose face was digitally replaced with Robbie’s. It looks great, and it’s hard to believe the film was really done on a relatively low budget – about 11 million, which in Hollywood is a pittance.
The 5.1 surround is very well thought out, especially in the skating scenes, where you feel you are in a large venue with sound of the crowds all around you. The period music is also in surround and it sounds great. The extras, listed below offer explanations of the films CGI work, and they are a must watch.
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Thanks for the review, Mel. I'd wondered about this one. But for me, it will probably be a rental rather than a purchase.