I, Tonya

On a purely emotional level, Margot Robbie should have won an Oscar for this wild parade of domestic violence, 90s fashion, crazy bangs, a boorish family background and figure skating, because there's hardly a character in the last year that has had such a broad appeal and reflected society so well, as well as the values of will, hard work, life's victories, losses and realising your dream, no matter how self-typical. She downright steals some scenes, such as the one at the courthouse at the end, overshadowing not only the other actors but also the otherwise excellent technical ensemble. I,Tonya is also on the same level as Titanic or the Lord of the Rings trilogy in one respect, the visual effects serve as a means of supporting the story, not as mere eye-candy. At the same time, they are hardly visible at all and the ice-skating scenes are filmed fantastically, yet unspectacularly, so not everyone notices. It's not a great film, but for the first time in a long time a story of the rise and fall of a person in an antipathetic way with very peculiar, harsh humour. (2018-05-13)

I didn't think I was going to be that entertained by this film, but given the way it is shot and the performances in particular (Margot Robbie and the incredibly exuberant Allison Janney, not to mention little McKenna, who shines everywhere, even if only for a moment in this film), I had to smile and just enjoy myself the entire time, also because of how interestingly the film is shot. (2018-01-24)

Quite an interesting story of Tonya Harding, and the only reason I watched the film is because I like sports dramas where the underdog kicks everyone’s asses. The opening met my expectations and I wanted to praise the excellent Tilda Swinton as the mother, but now I realise it was actually Allison Janney, well never mind she was perfect and to remove her after half an hour is a reprehensible mistake. That's like someone removing J.K. Simmons from Whiplash, without him the film definitely wouldn't have gotten the recognition it has now. As for Tonya herself, unfortunately there's not much skating, the rivalry is mostly nonexistent and she performs the same tricks over and over. The film focuses more on her personal life and her relationship with her husband, which at times was reminiscent of The War of the Roses, but I wasn't really interested in that. Pros: Margot Robbie and Allison Janney both solid, an interesting story. Cons: slow pace, humour only in the first 30 minutes then absent, lack of skating and o an intense finale like in Borg vs. McEnroe, for example. 6/10. (2021-02-23)

This biographical character study featuring well-developed characters is interesting due to the contrast between the protagonist’s redneck nature and the refined world of figure skating, which is everything for her. The world from which she came and the crowd that surrounds her (and that she has chosen for herself) produce drama worthy of a genre movie, event though no lives are put in danger. Great actors, engaging athletic performances. (2018-03-04)

Yeah, I remember the controversy around Tonya Harding, but it was interesting to see the story background. Based on the title of the film, I was expecting a drama about how some athletes will do anything to participate in the Olympics. The story was weirdly fragmented, though, as if the filmmakers wanted to handle multiple themes at once, not fully focusing on any one of them. Despite some reservations, I was intrigued by the film, Shawn and his boys took care of the laughs, and I particularly enjoyed the mother-daughter relationship portrayed by Allison Janney and Margot Robbie. (2018-07-01)