I, Tonya - S13 E100

Shoot The Hostage

We’re skating on thin ice for the second instalment in Sarah’s season dedicated to true crime movies. This time, we pivot from the bleak darkness of Snowtown to the darkly comic story of figure skater Tonya Harding in Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya.

Dan and Sarah dive into this fascinating sports movie that explores domestic abuse, poverty and media sensationalism, while somehow remaining incredibly funny – a precarious balancing act which we discuss at length.

There aren’t many films about figure skating so it’s refreshing to see this true story done justice on the big screen with a stellar cast. We examine the brilliant performances from Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Paul Walter Hauser and Allison Janney as Lavona Golden in an Oscar winning role.

This complex portrait of a complicated human being, who was routinely failed and vilified by the media, is not just about the “incident,” it’s about the people and the media circus that followed. It’s a genuinely re-watchable experience and we hope that you join us.

What to expect in this episode:

• We discuss how director Craig Gillespie managed to effectively balance the dark comedy with the serious reality of domestic abuse.
• Dan and Sarah compare the media frenzy surrounding Tonya Harding to later events like the O.J Simpson trial and the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard case, highlighting the media’s complicity in creating a circus around serious subjects.
• We praise Gillespie as a solid director with great casting choices, noting the ensemble effort.
• We explore the meta use of the contradictory interviews and the fourth wall breaks, which highlight that nobody truly knew the objective truth.
• Expressions of disappointment in the lack of a Flying V.

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