Author: changje

To be perfectly honest, I had only the vaguest background knowledge on the infamous Tonya Harding scandal before I saw this film. I knew that the affair had something to do with competitive skating and foul play, but was ignorant of the details. I came across a recent New York Times interview with Mrs. Harding Price, which is what piqued my initial interest in the film.

I wasn’t sure of what to expect. If anything, I anticipated a sober, first-person account of the events surrounding “The Incident” (as the scandal is referred to in the film). However, the audience received a quirky, almost playful set of mock-interviews from the actors portraying different figures in Tonya’s life, from her ex-husband to her mother (think: Emperor’s New Groove- esque). There is dark humor prevalent in this film, sardonic and bitter, which draws the viewer into Tonya’s backstory, from her first encounter with the ice rink as a three year old. The dark comedy extends to make the people in Tonya’s life, from her abusive mother to her abusive ex-husband, more human.

Tonya Harding led a difficult life. From a childhood devoid of parental affection to a violent and toxic relationship with her ex-husband, all she really longs for is to be loved. In fact, later on in the film, after completing her famous triple-axel, she relishes the cheers of the audience, reveling in how finally, she feels loved and adored. In almost every aspect of her life, Tonya is denied of a concrete expression of validation from the people in her life, and this makes her beaming response to her achievement hard to watch.

In many ways, I, Tonya is a film about classism. From her early years on the ice, Tonya struggled fiercely with her background as a child from a poor, working-class background in the world of figure skating, which nearly requires skaters to exude airs of luxury, to be princess-like in speech, manner, and dress. Tonya’s unconventional music choices for her routines, as well as her hand-made skating outfits, branded her as an outcast, a label she worked hard to overcome. However, the film is also about love and violence, and how the two coincide.

This film has caused me to view Tonya Harding in a more sympathetic light. Without spoiling some of the best scenes in the film, I would like to point out that while her role in The Incident is true, it does not stop me from empathizing with her and everything she has been through. Margot Robbie did a fantastic job portraying Tonya Harding, and I found myself laughing, weeping, and wincing, sometimes all at once.

I, Tonya will be screened at State Theater until January 18. Student tickets are $7 and can be purchased here.

Image credit: Rolling Stone

I have only seen two movies about nunhood in my entire life, both of them in the Michigan Theater. One was “The Little Hours” (starring Aubrey Plaza) and the other was Margaret Betts’s “Novitiate.” The two of them couldn’t be more different. A quick You Tube search will reveal why.

“Novitiate” is about nunhood– specifically, nunhood in 1960’s America, at the time of Vatican II, or the period of reform within the Catholic Church. Mother Superior, (played by Melissa Leo), is a menacing presence who looms over the women within the covenant, and her oscillations from benign and benevolent to frenzied and vindictive are played out very well. The girls are both extremely pious and devout and yet retain a girlish romanticism, explored in several scenes. The film maintains that the nun is a woman who is the bride of God, who dedicates her whole life and being to that sacrificial love. And this idea is seized upon by the girls and the other nuns within the covenant with a dedication that is tinged with borderline desperation, especially by Mother Superior. The Church is her entire life and identity, as it is for the other nuns, especially Kathleen; without God, what is there?

As a non-Catholic with no real background knowledge on what it means to be a nun, I was kind of concerned about how Catholicism and its practices would be portrayed in this film. Would nunhood be sensationalized and demonized? Would the “sexy nun” trope make an appearance? The trailer suggested a bit of a horror-based,  trope with explicit acts of sin and punishment, but the actual film is more as a slow buildup of psychological pressure and tension. Although the film opens with Kathleen’s life, it pans out to encompass the worries and troubles concerning almost all of the sisters within the cohort; namely, the main concern for many Sisters is the fear that their sacrifices are being made in vain. The penances that were slightly exaggerated in the movie trailer are less dramatic; the more impactful punishments are the psychological ones.

While I enjoyed the film’s cast and plot, I do think that some characters were underdeveloped and others were suggested to be of importance, only to be cast away later. Many characters dipped in and out of the film in quick succession, which made it a little difficult to focus on the main ones. However, I thought that Kathleen was a very interesting character; some might argue that she is a “Mary Sue” character, too pious to be true; yet her steadfast commitment to her faith only makes her eventual demise all the more compelling and explicit.

Unfortunately, “Novitiate” is no longer playing at the Michigan Theater. However, if you ever get the chance to watch it, I would highly recommend.

(Picture credits: IMBD)