I, Tonya
Today, I'll be reviewing I, Tonya; a funny biographical movie that details the life of figure skater, Tonya Harding. The main actors include Margot Robbie (previous movies include Suicide Squad & The Wolf of Wall Street), Sebastian Stan (Starred in Black Panther) and Alison Janney (she later won an Oscar for her role in this movie).
The theme of family is prominent throughout the movie. Although, Tonya tried to move the barriers of her socioeconomic class, she couldn't. It was a label, she couldn't remove as the judges didn't want a rude hillbilly from a broken home to represent the United States at competition. She was forced to make scrappy costumes as she didn't have enough money to pay for the expensive glittering costumes; worn by that of her rivals. Tonya's mother, LaVona knew from the beginning that Tonya had real potential and pushed her at age 4, onto the ice rink. Of course, it didn't help that Tonya has never actually seen a healthy relationship; with her father leaving her at a young age. That's how she ended up in the arms of Jeff Gilhooly. She was so used to experiencing abuse from her mother; that she couldn't tell right from wrong. She saw him as a way of escaping from her mother, but it was a relationship doomed from the beginning. In the end, family is what ruins it for Tonya. Her life at home and her life at the rink; eventually crashing into each other. Tonya gets a good run, landing two triple axels at competition, but finally slips from the top when she messes up her landing and Nancy Kerrigan (Tonya's supposed best friend) overtakes her in the rankings. Had she a supportive family, with people she could rely on, things may have turned different for this protagonist/antagonist?
We do feel for Tonya as she's had a bad upbringing and had to claw her way to the top; to get recognition for all her hard work from the judges. LaVona even hires strangers to heckle her own daughter to get a rise from her. The judges are more interested in trying to achieve a representative that'll portray the sport in a good light. Tonya also had to suffer the consequences of her bodyguard, Shawn Eckhardt's poor decision making. Although, it's a question of whether we should actually believe Tonya for her involvement in the Nancy Kerrigan scandal, as she's not reliable as you may think. Tonya even gets banned for life from the sport, she spent most of her life doing and she has nothing else; no life skills to fall back on as she dropped out of school, so she could focus more on figure skating. Tonya even realizes that if she's perceived as a bad guy, she may as well play the part and so she turns to boxing. Her potential is wasted due to Jeff throwing her under the bus.
This light-hearted biographical film was very easy to follow and I highly recommend the film.
Rating : 8.5/10
We do feel for Tonya as she's had a bad upbringing and had to claw her way to the top; to get recognition for all her hard work from the judges. LaVona even hires strangers to heckle her own daughter to get a rise from her. The judges are more interested in trying to achieve a representative that'll portray the sport in a good light. Tonya also had to suffer the consequences of her bodyguard, Shawn Eckhardt's poor decision making. Although, it's a question of whether we should actually believe Tonya for her involvement in the Nancy Kerrigan scandal, as she's not reliable as you may think. Tonya even gets banned for life from the sport, she spent most of her life doing and she has nothing else; no life skills to fall back on as she dropped out of school, so she could focus more on figure skating. Tonya even realizes that if she's perceived as a bad guy, she may as well play the part and so she turns to boxing. Her potential is wasted due to Jeff throwing her under the bus.
This light-hearted biographical film was very easy to follow and I highly recommend the film.
Rating : 8.5/10
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