Margot Robbie has spent the last few years since WOLF OF WALL STREET becoming a Hollywood superstar, with hits like SUICIDE SQUAD under her belt, and soon we could be addressing her as “Academy Award-nominee Margot Robbie.” The actress is entering the Best Actress race in a big way this year with her work as Tonya Harding in I, TONYA, a movie about how the infamous figure skater hired someone to attack her competition, Nancy Kerrigan. You can get a taste for her performance in the new teaser above, but be ready to bow down to her full performance when it hits theaters.
Based on unbelievable but true events, I, TONYA is the darkly comedic tale of American figure skater Tonya Harding and one of the most sensational scandals in sports history. Though Harding was the first American woman to complete a triple axel in competition, her legacy has forever been defined by her association with an infamous, ill-conceived and worse-executed attack on fellow Olympic competitor Nancy Kerrigan. Featuring an iconic turn by Margot Robbie as the fiery Harding, a mustachioed Sebastian Stan as her impetuous ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, a tour-de-force performance from Allison Janney as her acid-tongued mother LaVona Golden, and an original screenplay by Steven Rogers, Craig Gillespie’s I, TONYA is an absurd, irreverent, and piercing portrayal of Harding’s life and career in all of its unchecked––and checkered––glory.
The movie screened at TIFF this year where it was met with cheers, and the film itself was the runner-up for the People’s Choice Award. The movie shocked everyone with its biting sense of humor and Robbie’s stunning work, with up-and-coming studio Neon (COLOSSAL, INGRID GOES WEST) snatching up the distribution rights. The studio has it slated for a December 8 release, meaning they see it as a potential awards contender. Though praised for her work, Robbie has a tough race in what is being seen as the most competitive Best Actress race ever. Move over, Meryl Streep! Give someone else a chance!
I, TONYA hits theaters December 8, and you can read Chris Bumbray's glowing review here.