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As with many of my most anticipated films of the year, 'I, Tonya' had a promising trailer that made me want to see it and an interesting cast, the accolades (wins and nominations) and generally positive word of mouth were just as encouraging. Not to mention that it was based on a fascinating true-life person, Tonya Harding, with an equally fascinating and infamous story.
'I, Tonya' was entertaining and well done with a lot of great qualities, but somehow it felt uneven to me and like something was missing. Can totally see what people see in it, due to absolutely agreeing with what has been singled out as especially good, but it could have done more with such a great subject to work from and does fall short of being one of my favourites of the year.
Starting with the faults, the CGI for the ice skating sequences (which were otherwise very well choreographed and both witty and graceful) was both not necessary and distracting, as well as not being particularly good.
There should have been much more focus on the Nancy Kerrigan story, that is what made Harding infamous and it was a shame that nowhere near the amount of attention that went into Harding's rise and struggles went into this aspect, which featured nowhere near enough and was under-explored. Likewise with Kerrigan herself.
Also found the montage of Harding's abuse by her mother rather crass. Childhood abuse is a very serious and hard-hitting subject, to see it for my tastes trivialised and not taken seriously (instead played for laughs) won't bear well with sufferers and even non-sufferers like me will find it an ill-judged touch.
However, 'I, Tonya' elsewhere is handled very well. Particularly good is a sensational Allison Janney on pretty terrifying form, with her Oscar Win being one of this year's most deserving in a rare of few questionable wins, was rooting for between her and Laurie Metcalf. That is in my opinion, though there were a few that weren't my personal picks for the category, for example 'Lady Bird' being my pick for Best Original Screenplay.
Margot Robbie taking on Harding was a risk and it pays off mostly in a brave and credible performance that is her best to date (though not in the same league as Frances McDormand and Sally Hawkins). She may not look like Harding, is too old for her and could have brought out her vulnerability more (which would have happened if the film was consistently bolder showing the full horrors of the abuse, some times it was harrowing, other times it was too safe), but she is very successful at portraying her as a flawed and troubled human being with a lot of talent who made numerous mistakes but brings enough pathos to make her worth rooting for.
Rest of the cast are just as good, Sebastian Stan has never been better to me and the same goes for gentle and elegant Julianne Nicholson. Paul Walter Hauser entertains hugely as well. The direction is solid enough.
Visually, apart from the CGI, 'I, Tonya' looks great. It's beautifully shot and cleverly edited, while the music is energetic and whimsical and the ice skating choreography graceful. The script is sharp, acerbic and irreverent, with plenty of blackly funny moments. The story has its faults but is gripping and fast-paced with a lot of entertainment value, relatable themes, moments of tender poignancy and some unflinching ones. Was with the film for much of its length, which is why it was so frustrating that the Nancy Kerrigan story wasn't focused on enough. The documentary elements are an acquired taste and not for those looking for accuracy, but they were generally entertaining and clever if not as illuminating as they could have been.
Overall, entertaining and well done if uneven. 7/10 Bethany Cox
