I, Tonya

Verdict

A sharp, bruising, darkly funny character study that turns a tabloid scandal into a story about class, abuse, performance, and the way public narratives get weaponized. It’s entertaining, but the real draw is Margot Robbie’s volatile lead performance and Allison Janney’s scene-stealing turn.

Best for

• Viewers who like darkly comic biographical dramas
• Audiences interested in messy antiheroes and unreliable storytelling
• Fans of performance-driven films about class and media spectacle
• People who want a sports movie that is more about psychology than competition

Skip if

• You want a straightforward inspirational sports drama
• You dislike mockumentary-style storytelling and tonal whiplash
• You prefer films that stay emotionally warm or morally tidy
• You’re looking for a conventional true-crime account with strict factual sobriety

Overview

I, Tonya is a nasty, funny, and surprisingly sad portrait of a woman who was never allowed to become a clean public symbol. The film uses a fractured, interview-driven structure to show how every version of Tonya Harding gets filtered through other people’s cruelty, bias, and self-justification. That approach gives the movie its bite, but also its empathy.

Worth noting

Craig Gillespie keeps the tone in a tricky place: part satire, part melodrama, part sports movie. The skating scenes have real propulsion, but the movie is most memorable when it leans into the absurdity of the people around Tonya and the emotional damage underneath the jokes. It’s a film about talent colliding with bad luck, bad choices, and a culture eager to reduce a person to a headline.

Bottom line

Margot Robbie anchors the movie with ferocity and vulnerability, while Allison Janney delivers one of the film’s most unforgettable supporting performances. The result is a crowd-pleaser with teeth: funny enough to entertain, sharp enough to sting, and humane enough to linger after the scandal itself fades.

Top Letterboxd reviews

Kevin Y (3.5★) · 22472 likes

There's a scene where Tonya's voiceover says "I was 15" and then we see full grown Margot Robbie and it's probably the funniest moment in 2017 cinema.

Cassie (4★) · 15003 likes

Men ruin everything.

ella (4.5★) · 14119 likes

“she wants everyone to know she is a good mother” 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

#1 gizmo fan (4★) · 9833 likes

I cry everytime I see the video of her landing the triple axel. That's truly who Tonya was. She wasn't the evil villain to America's twisted story of fame, nor was she a redneck, a hillbilly, or a white trash girl with no education. She was that triple axel. She was the buildup to it, and the falling out after it. She was the doubt, the inspiration, and the feeling everyone across the world had when she landed it. After… more

Erik 🎼 (4.5★) · 7646 likes

tonya’s husband this whole movie: ok but what if nobody assaulted nancy kerrigan and her knee just did that

Themes

class resentment, abuse and domestic violence, media spectacle, public shaming, female ambition, sports and competition, identity and self-mythology, unreliable narration

Topics

biographical drama, dark comedy, sports drama, mockumentary style, class conflict, abuse, media satire, 1990s, antihero