I, Tonya - Film Review
Jul. 7th, 2018 10:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatJust finished watching I, Tonya on Hulu, by Steve Rogers, starring Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, and Allison Janney...and whoa, that is one scathing and rather brilliant indictment of our culture.
First off, I remember the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan story. It was in the 1990s, and I was into figure skating back then. Really into it. Watched the Nationals, and World Championships. Didn't like either of them, my favorites were Katarina Witt and Oskana Baule, who I completely forgot about until I googled the 1992 and 1994 Olympics. In fact I can't remember who won, and I never do. The only thing I remembered was the Scandal.
Tonya had been accused of breaking Nancy Kerrigan's kneecap. Although it wasn't clear exactly what had happened or why. This movie clears it up, and it's so insanely stupid, that I found myself thinking "you can't make this stuff up" or actually you can but no one will believe you, which is exactly what happened.
It's interestingly filmed, the writer/director interslices interview footage with dramatization. And at various points the characters turn to the camera and state, eh, that never happened, whoever is telling this is full of crap. I don't know where they got that from? Or, yes, she really did that, and yes, this really happened, we did not make it up. The story is told from two contradictory points of view -- Jeff Gillooey's and Tonya Harding's. From his perspective, he may have slapped her around a bit, but it was nothing serious, from hers, he beat her up, and at one point he shot her, the bullet grazed her scalp. According to Jeff, she ran after him with a shot-gun, she states that never happened. Her side is better supported than his.
The writer/director, Rogers, interviewed both Harding and Gillooey, and the film is based on his interviews with both of them. The only thing the two agreed on was that her mother, Lavonne, was horrible. Also, they apparently agreed on the fact that Tonya knew nothing about the hit on Nancy. Actually, it's not clear that Jeff had planned it either, so much as his crazy stupid friend, Scean.
The movie is hilarious in places. And painful in others. What I found chilling is near the end, Tonya states that she'd thought being famous would be great, but it wasn't, just for a few moments, but then she was attacked from all sides. She looks the audience in the eye and says, "you, all of you suddenly became my attackers, my judgers, you didn't know my story, you decided you did and became my abusers."
It's probably among the best biopics that I've seen. And what it shows about child abuse and domestic violence...whoa. I mean Gillooey punches Tonya for no reason. Throws her up against a wall, hard enough to break the mirror on it. Her mother smacks her. Makes her skate even though she has to pee, and watches her wet her pants on the ice and says, skate wet, when she's no more than seven years of age. In fact her mother took her to be trained as a figure skater at four years of age.
The US Skating Association does not come out well in this...they mark Tonya down for her costume, for her image, for not being wholesome. "We want someone who has the right image. Wholesome American Family. You need to create that for the audience." Tonya:" But I don't have that." The classism in the United States up front and center
I think everyone should see it -- because it helps to see another perspective, another truth. As Tonya or rather the writer states at the end of the movie -- "people want the truth, tell me to tell them the truth...but there is no general truth, there's just individual truths, what we each know to be true. And this is my truth -- that's all I know."
I agree with that assessment. I learned that truth like beauty is often in the eye of the beholder in law school. You can search for it of course, but in most situations it's never clear, and we all hold on to our own truths...what we believe or know to be true. Facts can be manipulated and twisted and aren't always what we think them to be.
Anyhow, it's a brilliant little movie. Well deserving of all of the accolades it's received.
First off, I remember the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan story. It was in the 1990s, and I was into figure skating back then. Really into it. Watched the Nationals, and World Championships. Didn't like either of them, my favorites were Katarina Witt and Oskana Baule, who I completely forgot about until I googled the 1992 and 1994 Olympics. In fact I can't remember who won, and I never do. The only thing I remembered was the Scandal.
Tonya had been accused of breaking Nancy Kerrigan's kneecap. Although it wasn't clear exactly what had happened or why. This movie clears it up, and it's so insanely stupid, that I found myself thinking "you can't make this stuff up" or actually you can but no one will believe you, which is exactly what happened.
It's interestingly filmed, the writer/director interslices interview footage with dramatization. And at various points the characters turn to the camera and state, eh, that never happened, whoever is telling this is full of crap. I don't know where they got that from? Or, yes, she really did that, and yes, this really happened, we did not make it up. The story is told from two contradictory points of view -- Jeff Gillooey's and Tonya Harding's. From his perspective, he may have slapped her around a bit, but it was nothing serious, from hers, he beat her up, and at one point he shot her, the bullet grazed her scalp. According to Jeff, she ran after him with a shot-gun, she states that never happened. Her side is better supported than his.
The writer/director, Rogers, interviewed both Harding and Gillooey, and the film is based on his interviews with both of them. The only thing the two agreed on was that her mother, Lavonne, was horrible. Also, they apparently agreed on the fact that Tonya knew nothing about the hit on Nancy. Actually, it's not clear that Jeff had planned it either, so much as his crazy stupid friend, Scean.
The movie is hilarious in places. And painful in others. What I found chilling is near the end, Tonya states that she'd thought being famous would be great, but it wasn't, just for a few moments, but then she was attacked from all sides. She looks the audience in the eye and says, "you, all of you suddenly became my attackers, my judgers, you didn't know my story, you decided you did and became my abusers."
It's probably among the best biopics that I've seen. And what it shows about child abuse and domestic violence...whoa. I mean Gillooey punches Tonya for no reason. Throws her up against a wall, hard enough to break the mirror on it. Her mother smacks her. Makes her skate even though she has to pee, and watches her wet her pants on the ice and says, skate wet, when she's no more than seven years of age. In fact her mother took her to be trained as a figure skater at four years of age.
The US Skating Association does not come out well in this...they mark Tonya down for her costume, for her image, for not being wholesome. "We want someone who has the right image. Wholesome American Family. You need to create that for the audience." Tonya:" But I don't have that." The classism in the United States up front and center
I think everyone should see it -- because it helps to see another perspective, another truth. As Tonya or rather the writer states at the end of the movie -- "people want the truth, tell me to tell them the truth...but there is no general truth, there's just individual truths, what we each know to be true. And this is my truth -- that's all I know."
I agree with that assessment. I learned that truth like beauty is often in the eye of the beholder in law school. You can search for it of course, but in most situations it's never clear, and we all hold on to our own truths...what we believe or know to be true. Facts can be manipulated and twisted and aren't always what we think them to be.
Anyhow, it's a brilliant little movie. Well deserving of all of the accolades it's received.
no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 08:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 07:41 pm (UTC)And yes, I think a documentary of sports association would reveal a great deal of ugliness, in the same way that's been coming out about the U.S. Gymnastics one.
no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 07:49 pm (UTC)I watched her interview with Ellen and her appearance on Dancing...and she did well on both. But she also seemed fragile and a little worried about it.
The US Sports Association has had some nasty stuff come out about it over the years.
The movie (which at times feels like a documentary in how it is filmed or a satire of documentaries) gets across how violence destroys lives. Also how violence for a long time was the center of Tonya's life.
At the end of the film -- we're told that she builds decks and paints houses, lives in Portland, not far from her ex, and is happily remarried with a daughter.
(And that it is important the audience know that she is a good mother.)
Much of Tonya's problem was her mother...
no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 08:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 09:36 pm (UTC)Kerrigan didn't have a great life either...her brother was convicted of killing her father and served 2 and 1/2 years prison time for it, Nancy had six miscarriages before having three kids, and her husband is on his second or third marriage.
no subject
Date: 2018-07-08 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-07-09 12:52 am (UTC)