I, Tonya - Review

Release Date: December 8, 2017

Rewriting History?

This, along with so many movies that came out in 2017 is going to be overlooked. It has an actress in the lead role not known for their acting ability. It comes from a small distributor that no one knows of. I, Tonya has the deck stacked against it and since the Golden Globes have passed, I get to talk about this movie a little differently than if I saw it before.

I, Tonya tells the story of Tonya Harding, a figure skater that tried to compete in a system that didn't want her. Growing up in a crazy environment that would have pushed anyone over the edge. The movie strives to tell a sympathetic story, full of style and a fall from grace. As someone who was not aware of the controversy as it happened in the 1990's, this was my first exposure to the "incident", as they call it in the movie.

The movie does what it sets out to do. It made me believe in the story it told. Sure Tonya did have a piece in what happened, but the punishment did seem too hard. If you have a strong opinion on what happened, this movie will not change your mind. No one begging for sympathy from a crowd that already hates you will get it. This point comes up at the very end of the movie which might have gone ignored by the people targeted by it.

It's not as zany as the trailer makes it out to be. It's just inherently a crazy story like The Disaster Artist, though it has more in common with Molly's Game. The similarities between Molly's Game and I, Tonya are actually very similar in story structure and themes. The major point where they diverge is quality and my recommendation to see it.

I think Sebastian Stan deserves a Best Supporting award for playing Tonya's ex-husband. Allison Janney deserves her Best Supporting Golden Globe for playing Tonya's mother. This movie is just so good, but will not be recognized because it tells a story about someone with a negative connotation to their name.

I, Tonya is a great movie not many people will see. This comes down to the fact that people don't like the real Tonya Harding. Without specifically meaning to, this movie highlights what the world has devolved into, and I think that it deserves praise for that. It also tells a story of someone broken by circumstance and buried under the tabloid nature that has become commonplace. I'm not saying that this movie will change your outlook on Tonya Harding, but I am saying to watch it.

                                             8/10
             A true athlete was lost to a corrupt system