(3 / 4)
“There’s no such thing as truth. Everyone has their own truth.” This phrase is uttered by Margot Robbie’s Tonya Harding during one of the film’s most poignant scenes and if the central idea of the film had to be summed up this quote would suffice. While the scandal is salient in the minds of almost everyone who witnessed the Olympics in 1994, there has never been a story from Harding and her associates’ perspectives before. I, Tonya, directed by Craig Gillespie, provides a fresh examination of Harding’s early life as well as what transpired leading up to the infamous event and the fallout that ended Harding’s skating career. Although the film at times sacrifices nuance in an effort to make this story completely from Harding’s point of view, the film blends comedy and drama effectively to tell the story of an ice skater unlike any other. Whether Tonya’s unconventional approach to figure skating should be celebrated or vilified, much like the public during this time period, is up to the viewer to decide.
The film is told in a mockumentary format with an older present day aged Tonya (Margot Robbie) along with LaVona (Allison Janney) and Harding’s husband Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan) as well as other individuals connected to the scandal narrating what occurred before, during and after the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. The events of the film begin by detailing a three-year-old Tonya having a natural aptitude for ice skating and her mother LaVona defiantly insisting that her daughter be accepted into a skate class despite being so young.
Although motivated to have her daughter succeed with figure skating, LaVona is revealed to have an abusive relationship with her daughter and elements of this are demonstrated with Tonya being physically wounded at times by her mother. The story proceeds to focus on Tonya’s relationship and eventual marriage with Jeff Gillooly as she simultaneously breaks away from her mother’s influence and begins winning figure skating competitions. This eventually leads to Tonya’s training and competition in the 1994 Olympics as well as Tonya’s connection with the attack on Nancy Kerrigan and the ways in which this impacted Harding.
The film has been praised for the past few months, most notably for the acting of Margot Robbie and Allison Janney and the hype has definitely been warranted. While excellent throughout the bulk of the film, Janney prevents LaVona from coming across as completely revolting and instead has some standout scenes in which Janney peels back the layers of the character. Janney expertly presents a woman who is more than just an abusively stern parental influence for Tonya and in less capable hands this character could have come off as a caricature.
Robbie is fantastic as well as she perfectly demonstrates Tonya’s tough no nonsense approach to the sport of figure skating, while also having moments in which you see how vulnerable Tonya actually is. There is an impressive sequence towards the end of the film in which Tonya is applying her makeup before performing in the Olympics and Robbie is fearless in showcasing Tonya’s struggle to suppress the trauma of the scandal and appease the judges and the public before her.
It is also worth noting that the film manages to balances its darkly humorous tone with genuinely emotional scenes, which can be a tricky balancing act. The soundtrack featuring several songs from the time period as well as songs used by Harding in real life during her routines was effective in reinforcing the tone and served as a reminder that this story is an account of the events through Harding’s lens and is not necessarily representative of reality.
Aside from the acting, the film’s biggest strength is the compelling theme about how the sport of figure skating requires more than technical ability as the skater must also appeal to the judges in terms of overall presentation. Much to Harding’s dismay, this means that despite achieving impressive technical feats, such as the first ever triple axel, she can’t be the best if she doesn’t have a graceful aesthetic. By allowing the audience to witness Harding’s upbringing, the film makes it easy for the audience to sympathize with Tonya’s plight. There is something almost insightful about Tonya’s stance regarding her refusal to conform with what the judges expect in terms of her outfits, song choices, and attitude when by being herself she would be more likely to stand out in the competition. This clever thematic connection with the later events with Kerrigan’s attack make it all the more tragically ironic when Tonya does indeed stand out, but rather than being revered by the public for this she is instead reviled.
The biggest disappointment regarding I, Tonya is in how it lays out the events that transpired in order for the attack on Kerrigan to occur. I understand that the film is beholden to what was revealed during the interviews with Harding and those involved, however, the story presents Harding in a way that absolves her of all wrongdoing, which ultimately is somewhat unsatisfying. Part of what makes the Kerrigan and Harding scandal so fascinating is the fact that the truth of the matter will most likely never be known. Within the context of the film, most of the blame regarding Kerrigan’s attack is transferred to other characters who the story spends little time depicting, which could have been more profound if there was more ambiguity instead. The film’s weighty ideas about there being no such thing as truth might have been more impactful if the film made more of an effort to let the audience decide the extent of Tonya’s role in the scandal rather than telling us that she was essentially a victim of being misjudged.
As I said earlier, the director Craig Gillespie seems to have had the intention of telling the story from Harding’s perspective and this explains why there was little ambiguity present by the end of the film. It could be argued that the general public has already condemned Harding for the attack and this story served as a way of providing the audience with another take on the scandal and the question of whether they believe Tonya’s account of the story or not remains a poignant question. Regardless of Harding’s culpability with the attack, I, Tonya offers an engaging account of a young figure skater’s refusal to compromise on her identity and what this decision ultimately cost her. The film will make you laugh, make you cringe, and even cry a bit as for the first time you hear the sympathetic stance from the other side of this story.
