There are a lot of things to love about I, Tonya, but what won me over just as much as Margot Robbie's pitch perfect performance as Tonya Harding, was the film's tone. While director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Steve Rogers capture the abusive upbringing that colored so much of her life and figure skating career, that they went the dark comedy route in showing it was the best move they could have made. The result is a film that is a little bit like Drop Dead Gorgeous meets Christopher Guest, and it seems to be winning over the judges.
Of course the film deals with the scandal that rocked the nation in 1994, when Harding's husband Jeff Gilooly (Sebastian Stan) hired some idiot goons to bash rival skater Nancy Kerrigan's knee before the championships. But it's about more than that; it's about everything that happened before, from growing up in poverty to an uncaring, domineering mother (Allison Janney), to a bad marriage, to the unrealistic expectations of the figure skating community.
I'm torn whether Robbie will get an Oscar nomination for this, but if it were up to me she'd be on the shortlist.
I, Tonya opens December 8th. Check out the new red band trailer below, and my review here.
