By MAYA MASHEB
The year is 1994. Tonya Harding, world-class skater, is involved in one of the biggest scandals the sport of figure skating has ever seen: the clubbing of fellow ice skater Nancy Kerrigan. Although once idealized for her completion of the challenging triple axel, Harding now faces ignominy for her part in the attack on “America’s sweetheart.”
“I, Tonya” tells this controversial story of infamous American figure skater Tonya Harding. The first American and the second person to land the triple axel, a complex figure skating jump, Harding was born with an inherent talent which was enhanced by hours of daily practice alongside her coach Diane Rawlinson. By the time she was 15, Harding had dropped out of high school to devote her complete time and energy to figure skating. However, her life was not as glorious as one would expect a renowned figure skater’s life to be. From an early age, Harding faced frequent psychological and physical abuse at the hands of her mother LaVona Golden, portrayed in the movie as an unstable alcoholic. Harding was never the sweet figure that the nation was longing for; instead, she was rough around the edges, smoked cigarettes, worked as a waitress at a local restaurant, enjoyed repairing cars in her spare time, and was consequently labeled by many as “white trash.” Eventually, her image caught up to her, as she was accused with planning the clubbing of fellow figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in 1994. She was ultimately removed from the United States Figure Skating Association.
The screenwriter Steven Rogers utilized great pathos in “I, Tonya.” Throughout the movie, the audience struggles to balance feelings of immense pity with a sheer lack of it. The amount of abuse Harding endured at the hands of the two people she should have trusted most–her mother and her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly–was sorrowful and upsetting to watch. It was also pitiful how Harding’s abilities went to waste. She was born with an incredible talent that few possess, yet her challenging upbringing shaped her into an outspoken competitor that often let her unruliness get the best of her. Some of the words that came out of Tonya’s mouth, especially when speaking to judges at competitions, were shocking and inappropriate. Ultimately, utilizing violence to get ahead in life is not acceptable. The Nancy Kerrigan scandal exemplifies Harding’s lack of sportsmanship and integrity.
Although the script itself was phenomenal, the actors and actresses brought the words on the page to life. Margot Robbie, who played Tonya Harding, perfectly encapsulated Harding’s toughness. In fact, many of the lines Robbie said were actual quotes from Harding herself, compiled from hours of interviews with the former skater. Allison Janney, who played LaVona Golden, was able to portray the insanity of Golden with extreme accuracy, leading her to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and Screen Actor’s Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. Sebastian Stan, who had the role of portraying the abusive, controlling, and attention-seeking Jeff Gilooly also portrayed his character remarkably well.
The movie depicts how one’s upbringing can impact the person that he or she becomes. Although Harding had an innate skill that was above that of her competitor, Nancy Kerrigan ultimately was more successful due to the image she retained in the public eye and the gracefulness that she brought to each competition.
Featured image courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.
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