Funny, profane and shocking in the sheer true-life stupidity of its players, I, TONYA is a fast-moving acting showcase and a brutal tale of abuse, greed and power.
With the darkest of comedic tones, we meet Tonya Harding's beast of a mother, LaVona, brilliantly played in an Oscar Winning performance by Allison Janney (Mom, The West Wing). LaVona is a foul mouthed, chain smoking terror, verbally and physically abusing her daughter Tonya from a very young age.
A natural skater, Tonya lives on the ice, driven by constant criticism and verbal attacks.
Her young years are no place for a child, watching her parents battle and her father leave.
The film jumps to Tonya at 15, where she is played by Margot Robbie in a terrific performance. Margot (The Wolf of Wall Street, Suicide Squad) IS Tonya, channeling the awkward teen years in all its fumbling glory.
Tonya meets Jeff Gillooly, well played by Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier in The Avengers) as a young man whose love quickly turns to physical abuse and unhinged jealousy.
Tonya rises through the national skating scene, blessed with talent but zero grace, strong drive but no class.
Like a poster child for white trash, she's everything that the sports leaders DON'T want as the face of their brand.
One of the most bizarre real-life aspects of the film is Jeff's best friend Shawn. Obese, completely delusional and living in his parent's basement, Shawn has convinced himself that he is a covert anti-terrorist operative.
When he hatches the scheme that will eventually become the infamous attack on Nancy Kerrigan, his bumbling fantasies open a vortex of stupidity and miscommunication so bizarre, it could only happen in reality.
Shawn is perfectly played by Paul Walter Hauser, who I've never seen before but becomes one to watch. His Shawn is a moron for the ages, hilariously so.
Director Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) makes bold choices along with his screenwriter Steven Rogers (Stepmom, Hope Floats). Tonya, LaVona and Jeff are constantly turning to the camera in the middle of scenes to offer their perspective on what's happening. It shouldn't work, but it does.
Margot Robbie is fantastic as Tonya, giving her every hard edge she deserves, while somehow creating a bit of sympathy for a young woman whose life seems controlled by every abusive, dark person around her.
The film scrapes an interesting middle ground between comedy and tragedy. The physical abuse of this young girl and woman is horrifying and its matched by the verbal assaults on her from a young age.
You leave the film understanding how Tonya became the hard shelled woman she is, and giving her some respect for always finding her way forward.
I don't recall laughing and wincing at a film in equal measure before, but I, TONYA deserves every reaction on both sides of that line.
The scores are in and I, TONYA gets a B.
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