Review: I, Tonya

Darkly comic biopic of renowned and infamous ice skater, Tonya Harding. The documentary style regularly breaks the fourth wall with dry humour - usually during a pause in a beating Tonya is on the receiving end of.

Margot Robbie is never fails to convince as Harding - a redneck seemingly born with a talent to skate (and an unusually pushy mother). The supporting cast are equally good (with Janney as her monstrously abusive mother, LaVona, being another standout).

LaVona Golden: You're a dumb piece of shit who thinks she deserves to get hit.
Tonya Harding: I wonder how I got that idea?

I don't remember much of the incident which this movie has been pulled together around, but I imagine this movie has done a great deal to rehabilitate Tonya as a sympathetic and vulnerable person behind the brash exterior.  I was particularly struck by the realisation of how much we are all the product of our circumstances (cf Homo Deus) and the unjustness of Tonya's fate - both on the ice and in personal relationships. I hope she has found peace and the life she deserves.

Verdict: Skating on thick ice.