Reflections on I, Tonya

DOOMED FROM BIRTH

I saw I, Tonya the same night I saw Lady Bird. Both are about young women who have dreams, both have a mother that wants the 'best' for them, and that's about where the similarities end. This film made me cringe, it made me gasp, it made me a little sick. This girl, (she reached her pinnacle and crashed by the age of 23), for all her gifts and abilities, for all her determination and perseverance, would never make it. People say, "If you want it bad enough, and you don't give up, you can achieve anything you want." I'm not so sure I agree anymore - this movie, this story, is one where that flies in the face of that belief.

My thoughts on this movie - very difficult to watch. And that, in itself, is a sign of a well-made movie, where the viewer is able to empathize with the character, to see nuances to what brings her to each point in her life. I vaguely remember when this covered the media - I remember feeling sorry for her, but that was not the way to 'win'. Hiring a 'hit'man to take down your American competition (after all, there was still Oksana Baiul, who beat them both), that still wouldn't get you the Gold nor the respect. But this movie brought out a lot more, her backstory, her struggles, those who surrounded her. And maybe, in a very small way, she reminded me of myself.

Thankfully my mother, though difficult, was not like Tonya's. LaVona (played in mesmerizing cruelty by Alison Janney) never loses an opportunity to 'create character' in her daughter. She knows life is tough, and that the world will be hard on her daughter. Her solution? Make her fight for what she wants. Make her strong by creating a place to struggle. And what ensues from there borders on being sickening. Today? she'd be up on child abuse. Then? No one probably knew anything, or they kept their mouth closed.  After all, it seems that the Hardings were from the other side of the tracks and some of 'those people'. Maybe the worst part was that, according to the way Janney played her role and it was written, LaVona never recognized the error of her ways and the horrible damage she did to her daughter. Not unlike Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) in Whiplash, LaVona's actions do bring forth a 'genius' in her protege, but at what cost? Maybe there is hope for Andrew in a way that there is none for Tonya - Andrew had someone in his life who loved him; Tonya does not.

This movie could have reduced Tonya to a joke, much like she was in the media at that time. The girl with home-made costumes, so not what the figure skating community puts forth as 'her' image, the rough-around-the-edges and foul-speaking woman who was so gifted on the ice, but would never get the recognition or accolades she worked so hard for and really did deserve. "I was loved for a minute, then I was hated. Then I was just a punchline," she says in the film. The film is full of lines that hit you in the gut - this is a woman, and to be treated thusly, by her family, her husband ... the media. She never had a chance. From the moment she was born, and her mother begin to 'train' her for success.

Perhaps what amazed me even more about the film is how the film portrayed an Olympic athlete. How they took an actress who could skate and turn her into the skater would pulled off the very first triple axel, and to do it on the screen. It was not an easy feat! but they did it very well. The thing is that all her routines and performances are available for everyone to see, so it's not like it can be bluffed. Yes, from a filming perspective, it was impressive.

There are times when the movie is painful to watch, there are times when you can't help but laugh (and feel sick that you just did). The actors are excellent in portraying their characters, each sharing their 'truth' with the audience. All you are certain of in the end - the actual facts of the incident are long forgotten and altered so no one knows what they are, and the one to pay the heaviest price was the one that was beaten down, a victim, lost before she even began. I wish her perseverance would have paid off, I wish she would have won and shown them all ... but she didn't. Sadly, she will be remembered for not for overcoming, but for being beaten ... down by those who knew her, mocked by the media, lost by the history books. I'm glad the movie was made but I don't want to see it again.

Nominated for Oscars:
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Margo Robbie)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Allison Janney)
Best Achievement in Film Editing

Reflections on Lady Bird

BECOMING 'ME'

Right off, I have to say that I loved this movie. Not because of any grand reason, but because it was so real. A young girl, last year of school, trying to figure out who she is, where she wants to go and what she wants to make of life ... but not all at once. What I would have given to have watched this movie when I was in Grade 12!

Saoirse Ronan is amazing - granted, she is close to the age of the character herself, but the 'realness' she brings to Christine makes the viewer see only this teenager struggling to find herself as the story unfolds. What do these classes have to do with life? how do I get people to like me? I want to be one of the popular kids! Why does my mom have to be so ... uhhh! ... school, friends, dreams, boys ... all this is part of the movie. All brilliantly shared with Ronan's amazing ability to become her character. She was brilliant in Brooklyn and again here. Every nuance from a look in her eye, to the way she walks or moves her hands, her acting is incredible.

I could ponder the details of Christine, but she would not be as brilliant if it was just her - she is surrounded by a cast that supports her and through their contributions, help to shine the light even more on her brilliance. Her mother, Marion McPherson (played by Laurie Metcalfe), is typical in many ways - working during the day to keep the family going, wanting the best for her daughter, sometimes imposing her desires upon her daughter, hoping to get her to avoid the pain of poor choices, wanting what she wants for her daughter and finally coming to the conclusion that it is best to let her daughter be who she wants and love her in spite of, because of, regardless of, and as she is. Her best friend, Julie (played by Beanie Feldstein), doesn't quite fit in with the 'cool kids' but she's faithful and she, too, is struggling with who she is in this thing called life. She struggles with identity and self-esteem and all things 'teen', and her role in Christine's life brings her even more to 'life' - sometimes Julie brings out Christine's strengths and sometimes she shows her difficult and negative traits. And then there's 'the boyfriend' - Kyle (played by Timothee Chalamet, also up for Best Actor in his movie Call Me By Your Name) and Danny (played by Lucas Hedges, up for an Academy Award last year for his work in Manchester By The Sea). Not a bad supporting cast! Each character is meticulously placed and created to bring out more nuances of the whole that we see as 'Lady Bird'.

I really think that when someone can talk about a character in a movie as that character, examine the motivations, the inspirations, the desires and struggles ... as the character, and everything is there, then it truly is a brilliant movie. Not only is the main character fleshed out, but so have all the minor characters, and this all contributes to the masterpiece of the whole. And still, in film, there is more - the cinematography, the editing, the music and costume and such. Each, almost tenderly used, to again, bring nuance to the whole. No wonder this film has received the accolades it has!

I have nothing negative to say about this movie - it's too simple? No, sometimes the biggest moments in life come as a small whisper. There are no 'big' moments, but it's not about 'big' moments. One pet peeve I have is wanting movies to be something they were not created to be. This director (and writer), Greta Gerwig, seems to have written her story as a homage to that point in a girl's life when she goes for 'girl' to 'woman', when she takes on the cloak of responsibility and begins to make her way into life as her own person. And how she does this in a movie, a medium that is about the external, what we see, which brings challenges to reveal the internal, Gerwig brings every detail into play in such a way that we know the internal. It's not supposed to be about 'big' moments, it's not an action-adventure, it's not so-many-things .. because what it IS, is brilliant.

I wish this movie was there when I was a teen girl in Grade 12. I might have turned out differently if it was. Or maybe my mother would have.

2018 Academy Award Nominations for:
Best Picture of the Year
Best Actress in a Leading Role (Saoirse Ronan)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Laurie Metcalfe)
Best Director (Greta Gerwig)
Best Original Screenplay (Greta Gerwig)