I, Tonya screenplay by Steven Rogers

I, Tonya screenplay by Steven Rogers

Dark humor, competition, obsession, failure

I, Tonya is nominated for three Golden Globes, in the 2018 competition.

Margot Robbie is nominated for her portrayal of the ice skater Tonya Harding, Allison Janey for the supporting role of Harding’s mother, LaVona Golden, and the motion picture for the category of best musical or comedy…

This is an excellent comedy, with quite a lot of drama in it.

Most of the characters are both obnoxious and competitive, if the latter in some sick, twisted manner.

LaVona Golden is the one who wants her daughter to become a very good ice skater, in fact nothing less than a champion will do.

She is pushing her daughter to extremes and what she does is more than child abuse, it amounts to torture.

-          That childhood abuse could and probably does explain a lot of Tonya’s behavior

In one early scene, LaVona takes her three or four year old daughter to get ice skating lessons from an expert.

She smokes when talking to this trainer who is not willing to accept a child that is so young for training:

-          You know, you cannot smoke on the ice rink

-          Oh…I will smoke quietly then

If the humor is mostly dark and often involves violence and aggressivity, it is because the characters are brutal.

The mother beats the daughter, who marries a man that does the same and she in turn throws things at him…

-          “LaVona Golden: You call a clean slate, for Christ's sake?

-          Skater Mom: Do not swear in front of the kids.

-          LaVona Golden: I didn't swear, you cunt…”

In another scene, the violent mother does not limit herself to cursing and kicking, she even throws a …knife!

And the knife is stuck in the hand of the ice skater!!

It is an extraordinary achievement to be able to compete at the highest level of ice skating under these circumstances.

-          And not just that, but Tonya Harding was the first American woman to do a triple axel

-          So her story is a complicated one

-          On the one hand, there were so many mistakes, failures and even criminal acts

-          On the other, this is also about resilience, grit, overcoming immense obstacles

She has had a very bad relationship with referees and people around her, because she was ill tempered and quick to explode.

It might also be the fact that judges were biased and quite often not fair to the competitor who was good on the ice, if often evil off it.

-          Sometimes one has to separate the artist, the performer, athlete from his private life

-          But if we think Weinstein, Spacey, Bill Cosby and so many others, then the conclusion is that what happens in private does matter…

So Tonya Harding had to pay for the image she projected and which was not favorable and affected her athletic achievements.

Furthermore, a nadir is reached when her bodyguard and ex-husband plot against one of her competitors.

If the husband seems to have been interested in psychological pressure only, the bodyguard took this further.

Another ice skater, Nancy Kerrigan is viciously attacked by a man hired by the bodyguard, with perhaps the knowledge of the husband.

This horrible act, resulting in a knee injury, lead to an investigation and then prosecution of those involved.

Tony Harding was sentenced and then moved to a different career, that of…professional fighter in the boxing ring…

This is a fabulous motion picture that portrays the life of a champion that worked and accomplished so much, only to blow it all away with vileness and viciousness…