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★★★★★
4 October 2017
A movie review of I, TONYA. |
“Why can’t it just be about the skating?” Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie)
If only more biopics showed this level of vitality. The camerawork, editing and dialogue work in harmony to create frenetically gripping snapshots of a life story. I, TONYA is that rare creature: A headline dissector. The film opens implying it will get you to question the testimony offered by the participants, but does for everyone bar Tonya. It definitely comes down on her side. Everyone else comes across as villains. As a kid I was vaguely aware of the scandal surrounding Tonya Harding. The movie causes reassessment. That is a real accomplishment: To question the received view. How the media unfairly vilifies is the concomitant.
At 4 years old, Tonya is shown to be an ice skating prodigy, quick to begin winning local competitions. In 1986, Skate America in Portland, and we see Margot Robbie as Tonya in national competition. Wait till you get to the skating scenes. Who cares if the sequences are C.G.I. enhanced when they are this exhilarating?
If only more biopics showed this level of vitality. The camerawork, editing and dialogue work in harmony to create frenetically gripping snapshots of a life story. I, TONYA is that rare creature: A headline dissector. The film opens implying it will get you to question the testimony offered by the participants, but does for everyone bar Tonya. It definitely comes down on her side. Everyone else comes across as villains. As a kid I was vaguely aware of the scandal surrounding Tonya Harding. The movie causes reassessment. That is a real accomplishment: To question the received view. How the media unfairly vilifies is the concomitant.
At 4 years old, Tonya is shown to be an ice skating prodigy, quick to begin winning local competitions. In 1986, Skate America in Portland, and we see Margot Robbie as Tonya in national competition. Wait till you get to the skating scenes. Who cares if the sequences are C.G.I. enhanced when they are this exhilarating?
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Judges are portrayed as biased. They see her and her family as white trash diminishing the sport. Disheartening stuff class prejudice. Tonya’s routines are accompanied by heavy metal and not classical music. Her style is clearly refreshing. She is a maverick, and not in the gatekeepers’ desired form. What almost makes you punch the air is when Tonya becomes the first American woman to achieve the "triple axel" move. Done in glorious slow motion, your ankles would wince if they could.
The lead’s father left Tonya with a cold, draconian mother, LaVona (Allison Janney – a best supporting actress nod on the cards?). What a mouth on her! The c-word is dropped liberally. Tonya’s parents get her to quit school to focus on skating. Surely that hamstrings her? Education increases your independence and self-assurance. Is she their meal ticket? Familial physical abuse comes from LaVona using violence to discipline and encourage, and continues with boyfriend and future husband Jeff (Sebastian Stan). For all the film’s razzmatazz, a melancholy seam runs through.
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Deftly mixing tones, jokes come thick and fast, through observations and character comments, offsetting the career tragedy - not diminishing but cleverly making palatable to a wider audience. An example of the humour: Young female skaters traditionally wear a fur coat. (Make of that what you will.) So Tonya's father makes hers out of rabbits. The garment is the stuff of nightmares. A disparaging comment comes; 12-year old Tonya (Mykenna Grace - GIFTED) flips the bird in succinct retort. So much is going on here: Class commentary, gender commentary, animal cruelty commentary, and winning bolshiness.
A societal mirror goes further with a look at the justice system. Arguably a double standard for women, the court's decision is portrayed as unjust and disproportionate. The film surely exonerates Tonya?
Will a movie be made about boxer Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield's ear? One wonders if there is a similar level of intrigue and social observation, but am more than happy to be proved wrong, especially if the resulting film is this intelligent and energetic.
I, TONYA is funny and moving, fourth wall breaking and vibrant. Margot Robbie and Allison Janney are on fire.
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