In 1994, Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding was at the center of a major scandal that grabbed the attention of the entire world when her body guard and ex-husband hired a man to break the knee of Harding’s fellow American teammate and competitor, Nancy Kerrigan.
As a result, Harding was banned from the American Skating Association and she lost essentially everything she had worked for her entire life. Ever since, there has been controversy over how much of a role, if any, Harding had in the attack on Kerrigan. This complicated and dramatic story is depicted perfectly in the new film I, Tonya which was released in December. The film stars Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding and Sebastian Stan as her husband, Jeff Gillooly.
Created in the style of a mockumentary, the film features recreations of interviews with Harding, her mother, her skating coach and her husband. At other moments, characters look directly into the camera and talk to the audience. By creating the film in this unique way, the audience gets to see more than just one perspective on the story and it shows just how complicated this story was.
Another thing that makes I, Tonya so engaging and interesting is it’s conflicting tone. At some moments, it’s violent and brutal, and, at other moments, it’s comedic. This sort of black humor gives it a distinctive feel and sets it apart from other films released this year.
The attack on Kerrigan only surfaces in the last part of the film, making the film largely about Harding’s life and the struggles she faced, growing up very poor with an abusive mother and later, husband.
The film takes on a sympathetic tone, never blaming Harding for the attack and instead showing that she was just very unlucky and surrounded by horrible people during her young life. The acting in the film was phenomenal.
Margot Robbie, who not only starred in the film but was also one of the producers, was able to match the tone of the film perfectly, transitioning seamlessly from a dark clearly troubled character to comedic and witty.
Her passion throughout the movie never wavered, and I believe she completely deserves her Oscar nomination for the role and even has a shot at a win (although she is up against tough competition). Sebastian Stan was also incredible. His character was conflicted and troubled and he portrayed this inner turmoil very uniquely. Stan has received little recognition from the Academy and other awards show groups for this role, but I believe he deserves much praise for his acting in this film.
Allison Janney was another example of the remarkable acting in this film. Playing the heartless and abusive mom of Tonya, she was so cold and unforgiving that it was comedic at times, but also completely tragic, and helped to create greater sympathy for Harding. Janney deservedly won the Golden Globe for best supporting actress in a comedy and is nominated for an Oscar as well.
To sum it up, this film is definitely one to see. Aside from the stand out acting and filming style, the story itself is so raw and real and it feels so personal. It perfectly encapsulates the sense of heartbreak and confusion that was a part of Tonya Harding’s life.