Most people around my age will remember what I, Tonya refers to as 'the incident'- the brutal attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in the run-up to the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. The attack was arranged by the ex-husband of Kerrigan's skating rival Tonya Harding. Now, this unbelievable true-life story has been brought to the big screen in a raucous biopic, directed by Craig Gillespie (Million Dollar Arm, Lars And The Real Girl) and starring Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad, The Wolf Of Wall Street) as Harding.
Harding is a fascinating figure who ended up being used as a punchline to many 1990s comedians. As far from the wholesome American family you can imagine, Harding's roughscrabble white trash upbringing, foul mouth and uncompromising attitude is anathema to the more genteel folk who hold the power in the figure-skating world. Emotionally and physically abused not only by her mother, but by her husband, Harding rose above it to become the first American woman to complete the technically challenging triple axel jump (an amazing feat, recreated by visual effects and shown lovingly in slow-mo). But her life changed forever when the attack on Kerrigan happened. Unaware that Kerrigan was going to be physically attacked, Harding nevertheless knew that there was going to be an attempt to mess with Kerrigan in order to give Harding an advantage. This is what ultimately does her in.
Robbie's performance is great. She's really strong, never playing the victim (although Harding undoubtedly is, but probably wouldn't ever see herself as) and makes for an engaging, sympathetic lead. There's a poignant twist towards the end when Harding, about to banned from skating for life, begs the judge to send her to jail instead, and Robbie's vulnerability in that moment is just heartbreaking.
Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Logan Lucky) plays Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly. He could have just been easily played as a trailer-trash caricature, but Stan's performance makes him more sympathetic than perhaps a self-confessed wife-beater should be. He cuts a pathetic figure when he tries to get Harding back and it's his machinations that unwittingly spells the end for Harding's career, a fact that is acknowledged towards the end of the film.
The star turn of the film, however, comes from the frankly brilliant Allison Janney (The Girl On The Train, Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children) who steals the show as Tonya's foul-mouthed mother LaVona. Never without a cigarette or an obscenity on her lips, LaVona is a darkly comic mix of stage-mother and Svengali, pushing her daughter to be the best at any cost. Janney is a brilliant character actress and it's been great to see her get the recognition she deserves in this brash and out-there role.
Other good performances come from Julianne Nicholson (Black Mass, August: Osage County) as Harding's skating coach Diane Rawlinson, who helps mentor her to the Lillehammer Winter Olympics and attempts to smooth down some of Harding's rougher edges, whilst Paul Walter Hauser is a scream as Harding's bodyguard Shawn Eckhart, a deeply delusional man who believes he's some sort of security expert (but really isn't). He hires Shane Stant to attack Kerrigan, but Eckhart's braggadocios nature soon gets him into trouble. It's a wickedly funny turn that really wouldn't be out of place in a Coen Brothers film.
Told in a mix of direct-to-camera interviews, plus acted-out scenes, there's a fair bit of fourth-wall breaking and a couple of deliciously OTT moments- such as Harding firing a rifle at Gillooly as he runs from the house, or Harding wielding a baseball bat and battering Kerrigan herself- which (as we are told) never happened. It's no coincidence that the film begins with a disclaimer that it's based on 'irony free, wildly contradictory, totally true interviews with Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly'. There's an interesting discourse on 'the truth' throughout the film, with Harding dismissing it as 'there's no such thing as truth... everyone has their own truth and life just does whatever the f**k it wants.'
The script, by Steven Rogers, is tight, but there are some bits towards the end which feel a bit laboured, especially when Harding claims that being used as a punchline made her feel abused all over again; no doubt that's exactly what Harding felt, but the script comes across as a little over-earnest at that point.
It's a decently made mockumentary-style biopic with several incredibly strong performances and an anarchic streak that's impossible to dislike.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tez
