I, Tonya (2017)
I went into I, Tonya fully expecting to be mildly entertained by a straightforward ice-skating biopic and mildly bored by the bits in between. I was only a toddler when the Nancy Kerrigan incident was dominating global headlines, so my knowledge going in amounted to little more than a name and a vague awareness that Tonya Harding was, by all accounts, a phenomenal figure skater. That was it. A skating movie, I thought. Probably fine. How wrong I was, and how happy I am about it.
What Craig Gillespie has actually made here is a darkly comedic, brilliantly constructed character study that has absolutely no interest in playing by the tired rules of the sports biopic. There's no plodding rise-and-fall arc delivered in a worthy, self-serious tone. Instead, it's chaotic, funny, emotionally raw, and wickedly entertaining, told through a mockumentary framing device that lets the characters speak directly to camera and contradict each other at every turn. It keeps you completely hooked because you're never quite sure whose version of events to believe, and frankly, that ambiguity is part of the whole point.
The casting is nothing short of inspired. Margot Robbie plays Tonya Harding and she is absolutely extraordinary in the role, nailing both the physical demands and the emotional complexity with real precision and commitment. This is comfortably the best performance I've seen from her, and I say that as someone who already loves her chaotic energy in Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey. This is a different level entirely. She makes you root for Tonya even when Tonya is making decisions that are difficult to defend, which is no small feat.
She's brilliantly matched by Allison Janney as her monstrous mother LaVona, a performance so darkly, deliciously twisted that it almost defies description. Janney chews scenery like it's a competitive sport and steals every single scene she's in, yet never lets you forget the genuine damage this woman has done. It's a tightrope walk between comedy and horror, and she never puts a foot wrong. Rounding out the ensemble perfectly is Paul Walter Hauser as Shawn, the hapless, self-aggrandising so-called mastermind behind the infamous attack on Kerrigan. He is absolutely hilarious in the role, and he's quickly becoming one of my absolute favourite actors working today, right up there with his brilliant turn in Americana.
What really caught me off guard, though, was the unexpected emotional weight of the whole thing. There's a genuine, unforced sense of pride that builds as you watch Tonya Harding claw her way up from an impoverished, deeply abusive background and force her way to the top on sheer talent and sheer bloody-mindedness. She's a working-class woman blasting heavy metal while nailing triple axels, refusing to perform the genteel, polished version of herself that the skating establishment demanded. As someone who has a lot of time for doing things your own way regardless of what the establishment thinks, I really felt that. It gives the film a beating heart beneath all the dark comedy and tabloid madness.
Gillespie's directorial flair is evident throughout. The mockumentary style, the breaking of the fourth wall, the propulsive editing and brilliant soundtrack choices all combine to create something that feels genuinely alive and unpredictable. It never drags. It never condescends. It treats this story, and its audience, with a kind of anarchic intelligence that's genuinely refreshing.
Four stars. I was so completely, happily wrong about this film. What I assumed would be a mildly diverting afternoon turned out to be a sharp, hilarious, and surprisingly moving piece of work that takes a real-life tabloid tragedy and wrings something genuinely brilliant out of it. If you've been sleeping on I, Tonya for the same reasons I almost did, do yourself a favour and fix that immediately.
Rating: ★★★★ | Year: 2017 | Watched: 2026-07-03
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Netflix · Sky Go · Now TV Cinema · Netflix Standard with Ads
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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