Ever since he recorded a parody of the Knack’s My Sharona into My Bologna in late 1979 that eventually lead to a long-standing career as an artist of his own who is famous for music parodies as well as some unique originals and genre parodies. “Weird” Al Yankovic is a figure that is difficult to define when it comes to being the subject of a movie bio-pic as a parody trailer from 2010 showed exactly what might’ve been. However like all other movie bio-pics before him, Yankovic too would play into the many plot schematics that is expected where that person comes from humble beginnings, being rebellious, creating the first hit song, becoming famous, doing drugs, alienating those, crashing down to Earth, killing some people along the way, doing mountains of cocaine, sex scandals with farm animals, losing everything including the money, going home, and then make that great comeback album that unfortunately sucked ass. Actually, a lot that was mentioned didn’t exactly happened to Yankovic in real-life as he never drank, did drugs, doesn’t eat meat, doesn’t say profanity in his records, and never took himself seriously but he does have an addiction to dessert.
Since Yankovic’s life doesn’t play to those schematics, that doesn’t mean that he and co-writer Eric Appel would make Yankovic’s own life to play into those many clichés with lots of exaggerations and such where much of the film takes place from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s with lots of anachronisms, dramatic liberties, inaccuracies, and all sorts of ridiculous embellishments that somehow work. Even in Yankovic’s relationship with his parents Nick and Mary Yankovic (Toby Huss and Julianne Nicholson, respectively) is played into clichés with the young and teenage Yankovic (Richard Aaron Anderson and David Bloom, respectively) feeling like his parents don’t understand him though the reality was that Nick and Mary Yankovic were more than supportive as they would sometimes appear in Yankovic’s music videos and concerts to the delight of fans. Still, the script does play into the clichés where young Al tries to ponder his father’s hatred for the accordion and polka music where the latter of which is considered to be evil music where the teenage Yankovic was invited to a party unaware that it’s a secret polka party that is considered forbidden with the accordion also considered taboo. It is among these things that play into this surrealistic approach that Appel and Yankovic provide as well as the legendary story of Yankovic’s relationship with Madonna that supposedly never happened.
Appel’s direction is definitely stylized as it opens with Yankovic being sent to the emergency room where the ER doctor (Lin-Manuel Miranda) is about to declare Yankovic’s time of death until Yankovic gets up and asks the doctor for a piece of paper and a number 2 pencil. It then shifts to life of the young Yankovic trying listen to his favorite radio show hosted by Dr. Demento (Rainn Wilson) who would later become Yankovic’s mentor. Shot largely on location in Los Angeles with additional locations in Pompona and Tarzana, California, Appel does keep a lot of the compositions straightforward with some wide and medium shots to establish some of the locations with the latter playing into some of the drama as it relates to Yankovic and his parents but also some strange sequences of how Yankovic creates the song Eat It after eating guacamole laced with LSD. It is among these strange yet hilarious moments that Appel creates where nearly every scene is a play of every cliché expected in a bio-pic but also being aware of how ridiculous it is.
Appel also create scenes that does spoof other films but also real-life moments from stories of other real-life musicians add to the sense of absurdity. Even when Yankovic finds himself in the ire of legendary Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar (Arturo Castro) who felt rejected when Yankovic passed on doing a show for Escobar’s birthday. Though the reality was that Yankovic and Escobar never met, the idea that the latter would be a fan of the former is still hilarious as it plays up the tone of the film that also delves into stylish action moments inspired by films of the 80s. The film’s climax does play into this sense of redemption yet because this isn’t based on any form of fact or anything realistic. It still has this absurdity into what Yankovic endures but also getting some unlikely inspiration for his magnum opus in a song that would give him validation but also the ire of some. Overall, Appel crafts a monumentally idiotic, stupid, and ridiculous film that manages to fucking hilarious and so much more about the life of one of the Weird One.
Cinematographer Ross Riege does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its colorful look for the daytime exterior scenes along with stylish lights for the interiors at the Yankovic home and for some of other interior/exterior scenes at night. Editor Jamie Kennedy does excellent work with the editing as it has elements of style in a few montages as well as some of the absurdist-humor moments in the film. Production designer Dan Butts, with set decorator Laura Harper and art director Jack Carnevale, does amazing work with the look of some of the places including the first mansion that Yankovic have as well as the villa where Escobar lived in. Costume designer Wendy Benbrook does fantastic work with the costumes such as the many Hawaiian shirts that Yankovic wore as well a few costumes for some of his songs as well the clothes that Madonna wore during that time in the 80s as well as a look she would have in the many years to come.
Makeup artist K.T. Chandler does nice work with the look of the characters including some of the celebrities Yankovic meets as well as a look his mother would have late in the film that would inspire one of his great songs. Visual effects supervisors Charles H. Joslain, Joseph Sperber, and Izzy Traub do incredible work with some of the visual effects with the most notable moment is the acid trip sequence in all of its insanity. Sound designer Mike James Gallagher and sound editor Anthony Vanchure do superb work with the sound in the way music is presented on a radio as well as certain sound effects that would play into Yankovic’s music. Music by Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson, with additional music by “Weird” Al Yankovic, is wonderful for its orchestral-based score that is a spoof of dramatic-based music scores with elements of bombastic arrangements and rock textures for some of the action and fight scenes while music supervisor Suzanne Coffman cultivates a soundtrack feature some of the comedy music of the 1960s and 1970s that would inspire Yankovic as well as the music of the times including some new music by Yankovic including a new song for the final credits.
The casting by Wendy O’Brien is great as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Suzanne Krajewski-Yankovic as Tony Scotti’s wife in the European singer Sylvia Vartan, Michael McKean as a club MC, Dot-Marie Jones as a club goer who wants ice cream, Patton Oswalt as a heckler at the club, Josh Groban as a waiter an expensive restaurant, Seth Green as the voice of a radio dee-jay, Thomas Lennon as an accordion salesman who tells the young Yankovic that he’s going to get a lot of pussy through the accordion, Richard Aaron Anderson as the young Yankovic, David Bloom as the teenage Yankovic, and Lin-Manuel Miranda as the ER doctor who almost declares Yankovic dead. For the appearances in the party scene, the performances from Jack Black as famed radio dee-jay Wolfman Jack, Emo Philips as Salvador Dali, Conan O’Brien as Andy Warhol, Paul F. Tompkins as Gallagher, Demetri Martin as Tiny Tim, Nina West as Divine, Jorma Taccone as Pee-Wee Herman, Akiva Schaffer as Alice Cooper, and David Dastmalchian as Queen bassist John Deacon are a joy to watch as are some of the un-credited people who play other famous figures such as Elvira, Grace Jones, Devo, and David Bowie.
The performances of Tommy O’Brien, Jack Lancaster, and Spencer Treat Clark in their respective roles as Yankovic’s friends/bandmates in drummer Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz, guitarist Jim “Kimo” West, and bassist Steve Jay are terrific to watch as friends who support Yankovic but are troubled by his alcoholism while the duo of Will Forte and “Weird” Al Yankovic are fantastic in their respective roles of Ben and Tony Scotti as the men who would sign Yankovic with the former being completely dismissive of Yankovic’s talents. Quinta Brunson is excellent as Oprah Winfrey as the talk-show host who interviews Yankovic in his rise while her question about his parents would become a major plot-point while Arturo Castro is superb as the infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar as a fan of Yankovic’s music until he gets pissed off that Yankovic turned out the invitation to celebrate his birthday. Toby Huss and Julianne Nicholson are brilliant in their respective roles as Yankovic’s parents in Nick and Mary Yankovic with the former being a man who hates polka and accordions with a lot of anger where Huss brings a lot of laughs as the angry disapproving father with a secret to hide while Nicholson plays it straight as someone who supports her son but hopes he doesn’t anger his father as she would later turn her frustrations into something that would inspire one of her son’s greatest songs.
Rainn Wilson is amazing as Doctor Demento as the famed comedy dee-jay who would discover Yankovic and become his mentor where he would guide him but also introduce him to drugs much to his regret as well as wanting to become a father figure to Yankovic. Evan Rachel Wood is phenomenal as Madonna as the famous pop singer who seduces Yankovic in the hope he would parody one of her songs so she can get a big sales bump as Wood captures the voice and look of Madonna pitch-perfectly as well as that personality of a woman who wants to rule the world as it is truly one of her finest performances ever. Finally, there’s Daniel Radcliffe in a tremendous performance “Weird” Al Yankovic as a young man that wanted to create music as Radcliffe brings that offbeat humor to the role while also displaying that angst as someone wanting to win his father’s approval as Radcliffe plays up the absurdity in a performance that is truly one of his best.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a sensational film from Eric Appel that features a great leading performance from Daniel Radcliffe as well as incredible supporting work from Rainn Wilson, Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson, and Evan Rachel Wood. It is a film that refuses to take itself seriously or to be accurate in favor of just being ridiculous as well as make fun of many of the clichés expected in movie bio-pics. In the end, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a phenomenal film from Eric Appel.
© thevoid99 2023
The life and career of Marilyn Monroe is a story that’s been told through many films, documentaries, and in books that ponder how a woman who was one of the biggest film stars in the 1950s die so tragically in 1962 through an overdose of barbiturates. There have been a lot of stories about Monroe that wonder a woman who had entertained millions of people yet was also insecure about her skills as an actress as well as having to please people through three failed marriages as well as many rumors about her life. What Andrew Dominik does with this story of Monroe is take Joyce Carol Oates’ largely fictional novel about the film star and turn it into this unsettling and discomforting film that is mainly the anti-bio-pic. Notably as the film is more about the woman who inhabits the role of Marilyn Monroe in Norma Jeane Baker who would find success as Monroe but would have trouble trying to balance in being Baker and Monroe.
Dominik’s screenplay is straightforward in its narrative as it goes from Baker as a child (Lily Fisher) living with a mentally-ill mother in Gladys (Julianne Nicholson) to her final years being all alone and searching for her father (Tygh Runyan) whom she had never met yet would receive letters from him during her period of stardom as it becomes an obsession she has in trying to find him. The first is about Baker’s life as a child and then a pinup model who also did nude photos as she aspires to be an actress where she would get early film roles and attention as well as be in a polyamorous relationship with Cass Chaplin (Xavier Samuel) and Eddy Robinson (Evan Williams) who are the sons of famous actors. Yet, Baker’s desire to have a normal life and a family would often be pushed aside for her career as its second act is about her relationship with a former baseball player, in this fictionalized version of Joe DiMaggio (Bobby Cannavale), who would later be angered by the attention she gets as a sex symbol. The third act begins in New York 1955 when she met a playwright (Adrien Brody) who would treat her kindly and give her a life away from the glitz and glamour but tragedy and addiction would lead to her downward spiral.
Dominik’s direction is definitely stylish in not just the overall presentation with the usage of different aspect ratios with the 1:33:1 and 1:66:1 aspect ratios used commonly throughout the film. Shot largely on location in Los Angeles and areas in Southern California, Dominik creates a film that play into a woman being caught in the middle of this idea of fantasy and reality as one notable sequence in the first act is when the 7-year old Baker is woken up by her mother to see the Hollywood Hills being burned where Gladys claims that Baker’s father lives there. Yet, it is this scene that do play into a world that Baker is going into where she would later describe as Hell as it would be followed by Gladys having a mental breakdown. There are some usage of the 1:85:1 and 2:39:1 aspect ratios in a few scenes that play into Baker’s own ascent but also her own desires to have some freedom as she becomes an adult. Dominik’s usage of close-ups and medium shots do help play into Monroe not only interacting with people but also showcase a woman whose desire for stardom also would have her in some degrading moments. Notably as she meets a studio boss who pulls down her panties and fucks her up in the ass in an act of rape.
The film’s sexual content isn’t exactly explicit except for a scene late in the third act involving an American president (Caspar Phillipson) that doesn’t exactly show anything but it is clear what Monroe is doing as it is later followed by an unseen act. Dominik doesn’t shy away from the fact that Monroe is seen as an object of desire that men want but there are also moments that are surreal where there’s a shot of the playwright’s face being blurred along with men’s jaws getting larger during a film premiere. It is among some of the surreal elements that includes an image of a womb in Baker’s stomach that play into her desire to have a family but the specter of Monroe overtakes Baker’s first chance while there is a more gruesome depiction of abortion late in the film that is also surreal yet terrifying as it add to Baker’s own declining mental state.
It is clear that the film isn’t just about a woman coping with mental illness and misogyny at a time when women didn’t get much say in their role in the entertainment industry. It is really a film that blends genres in not just drama but also horror as it play into this nightmare that Baker had put herself into. Even as Monroe would become this troubled figure that is difficult to work with on film as she struggles to connect with someone who will see her as just Baker. Though there are men such as Cass, Eddy, the playwright, and her assistant Whitey (Toby Huss) who do treat her kindly along with care and love. They were unable to deal with the chaos that is Monroe and her road to self-destruction as well as being used by others who treat her like meat or just another woman they can just fuck and find the next piece of ass they can sodomize. Overall, Dominik crafts a visceral and harrowing film about a woman wrestling with a persona that she created that gave her everything as well as nothing.
Cinematographer Chayse Irvin does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of black-and-white stock for some scenes in the film to play into the period of the times as well as some colorful work including the Hollywood Hills fire scene as well as some scenes at Monroe’s home in her final days. Editor Adam Robinson does excellent work with its usage of slow-motion shots, jump-cuts, and other stylish cuts to play into the drama. Production designer Florencia Martin, with set decorator Erin Fite and art director Peter Andrus, does amazing work with the look of the apartment that the young Baker and her mother lived in as well as the homes and film sets that Baker/Monroe would be in. Costume designer Jennifer Johnson does fantastic work in creating some of the clothes that Baker/Monroe wear including some of her iconic clothing in the films she’s been in.
Makeup artist Tina Roesler Kerwin does brilliant work with the look of Baker/Monroe from the hair and the look she would having including aspects of her body during her final years. Special effects supervisor Jeremy Hays, along with visual effects supervisors Jindrich Cervenka, Jason Melcher, and Phillip Moses, does terrific work with some of the visual effects including the design of Baker’s womb in her stomach as well as some of the surreal bits in the film. Sound designer Leslie Shatz does superb work with the sound in the way flash bulbs pop and other sparse elements in the sound to play into the drama and horror. The film’s music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis is phenomenal in this haunting and disconcerting music score that mixes elements of electronic and ambient music that help play into Baker’s own psyche as it is a highlight of the film.
The casting by Victoria Thomas is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Chris Lemmon as his father Jack, Michael Masini as Tony Curtis, Scoot McNairy as Tommy Ewell, Garrett Dillahunt in an un-credited appearance as a film producer, Ravil Isyanov as filmmaker Billy Wilder, Lucy DeVito as the ex-athlete's niece who is one of the few in his family that is kind to her, Eric Matheny as Joseph Cotten, Sara Paxton as Gladys’ neighbor who brief takes the young Baker in, Tygh Runyan as a picture of Baker’s father, Lily Fisher as the young Norma Jeane, Dan Butler as an industry boss of Monroe in I.E. Shinn, and David Warshofsky in a fictionalized version of Darryl F. Zanuck who would rape Baker/Monroe in their first meeting. Toby Huss is terrific as Monroe’s personal assistant Allan “Whitey” Snyder who helps with her makeup as well as doing what he can to help including getting her pills. Caspar Phillipson is superb in his brief role as a fictionalized version of JFK as a man who is trying to run a country but also fuck as many beautiful women as he can as he treats Monroe like shit.
Xavier Samuel and Evan Williams are fantastic in their respective roles as Charles “Cass” Chaplin III and Edward “Eddy” G. Robinson Jr. as the sons of two film icons who become Baker’s lovers as they help her with their acting career but also do what they can to protect her despite their own flirtation with danger. Julianne Nicholson is excellent as Gladys as a woman that feels cursed by being daughter to a young girl as she exhibits serious mental problems while feeling distant when she meets Baker as an adult. Bobby Cannavale and Adrien Brody are brilliant in their respective roles as the fictionalized versions of Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller with Cannavale displaying a man that does love Monroe but becomes troubled by her fame as a sex symbol while Brody exhibits a sensitivity as a playwright who cared about her but is pushed away as he is unable to help her.
Finally, there’s Ana de Armas in a phenomenal performance as Norma Jeane Baker/Marilyn Monroe as a woman who is just trying to find love and be accepted as who she is only to go into a tumultuous and chaotic world where she is unable to really be herself. It is a performance that has de Armas take on an American accent as well as display that sense of anguish and longing of a woman that is desperate to be loved. Even as she had to endure not just humiliating moments but also moments that are degrading and horrifying as she succumbs to madness as well as a loss of identity in having to play a persona that ends up being just a nightmare. For de Armas, this is definitely a career-defining performance for the Cuban-Spanish actress who definitely proves that there’s a lot she can do while it is also proof that she’s really just getting started.
Blonde is an outstanding film from Andrew Dominik that features a towering leading performance from Ana de Armas. Along with its ensemble cast, rapturous visuals, a brooding music score, and its exploration of misogyny, identity, madness, and fame. It is a film that isn’t easy to watch while it is also willing to provoke the idea of myth and legend by showcasing a woman being trapped in a nightmare where she had no control of. In the end, Blonde is a magnificent film from Andrew Dominik.
Related: All About Eve - Some Like It Hot - Insignificance - My Week with Marilyn - Arthur Miller: Writer
Andrew Dominik Films: Chopper - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Killing Them Softly - One More Time with Feeling - This Much I Know to Be True
© thevoid99 2022
Written and directed by Margaret Betts, Novitiate is the story of a young woman who is training to be a nun in the early 1960s when the convent she’s living in is dealing with drastic changes during the period of the Vatican II and its effects. The film follows a woman trying to maintain her faith amidst the cruelty from her superiors who are reacting badly towards this emergence of change in the Catholic Church. Starring Margaret Qualley, Dianna Agron, Julianne Nicholson, Liana Liberto, Eline Powell, Morgan Saylor, Denis O’Hare, and Melissa Leo. Novitiate is a riveting and chilling film from Margaret Betts.
Set mainly in 1964 during the announcement of reforms from the Vatican II council, the film follows a young woman training to be a nun as she endures cruelty from her mother superior as well as temptations between body and soul. It’s a film that plays into a woman wanting to devote herself to God yet is unaware of the news about Vatican II and their desire for reforms as she and many others are kept in the dark where she has to endure all sorts of punishment to prove her devotion. Margaret Betts’ screenplay follows the life of Cathleen Harris (Margaret Qualley) who has been fascinated by spirituality ever since her mother Nora (Julianne Nicholson) took her to church just out of curiosity as Cathleen becomes interested where she attends Catholic school five years later where she would eventually decide to be a nun much to her mother’s dismay.
Much of the first act is about Cathleen’s introduction to Catholicism and the desire to be a nun where she would befriend other young women who would train under the tutelage of the kind Sister Mary Grace (Dianna Agron) whom the girls admire. The second act begins when Reverend Mother Marie Saint-Clair (Melissa Leo) gets word about the changes that the Vatican II wants to impose. For Saint-Clair, the changes is something she is unable to accept as she feels it is a threat to the way of life for the nuns though Sister Mary Grace believes the reforms could help the church reach out to more people and not be as exclusive. Yet, Saint-Clair would try to impose her old ideals upon the nuns-in-training including Cathleen who would start to struggle with her own temptations relating to the flesh just as a new novice nun in Sister Emanuel (Rebecca Dayan) has joined the convent transferring from another convent. The third act play into not just Cathleen’s temptation and belief into her sacrifice for God but also this sense of unraveling in Saint-Clair as it relates to this air of change that she has to deal with.
Betts’ direction is intoxicating for not just the way she presents this world of faith and a young woman’s infatuation with that world in the hope that can serve God the best way she can. Shot largely on location in Nashville, Tennessee where much of the film is set, the film does play into the daily life that a future nun has to endure where it begins with a prayer before morning mass and all sorts of activities that play into the training of being a nun as well as learn about the sacrifices that are made. While Betts would use some wide shots to get a scope into the convent and some of the surroundings out of the convent. Much of her direction emphasizes on close-ups and medium shots to get a look inside the rooms as well as these tense weekly meetings with Saint-Clair in which the novices have to confess their faults in front of their peers. It is one of these eerie scenes that play into Saint-Clair’s growing cruelty and unraveling as she would later question the idea of God’s abandonment towards her in a scene late in the film.
The direction also play into this struggle of body and spirit as it relates to the sacrifice Cathleen would make in the third act but also a loss of innocence as it relates to the cruelty she and other novices receive from Saint-Clair. There is this element of sexual temptation and longing to connect with others where the latter play into a meeting between Cathleen and Nora where the latter is concerned about Cathleen’s well-being as she confronts Saint-Clair. The film’s final moments don’t just play into the reality that Cathleen is about to embark on but also this sense of disconnect she was to have with the world that is ever-changing that some who were with her the first time around have left to be in that world. Overall, Betts create an evocative and haunting film about a young woman’s training to be a nun as she deals with changes in the Catholic Church and her struggle in her devotion to God.
Cinematographer Kat Westergaard does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on natural lighting for many of the interiors inside the convent while aiming for a somewhat stylized look of sorts for scenes outside the convent such as Cathleen’s family home. Editor Susan E. Morse does excellent work with the editing as it does have some rhythmic touches in the drama as well as play into some of the dramatic tension that looms throughout the film. Production designer John Sanders and set decorator Gia Grosso do amazing work with the look of Cathleen’s family home for scenes early in the film as well as a few interiors inside the convent with a lot of its religious imagery.
Costume designer Vanessa Porter does fantastic work with the costumes from the stylish clothes that Nora wears to the communal dresses that the nuns-in-trainings and novices would wear for a ceremony and the nun uniforms the superiors would wear. Sound editor Ruy Garcia does superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the convent with its emphasis on silence as well as sparse noises to play into the dramatic tension and terror in scenes with Saint-Clair being mean to her students. The film’s music by Christopher Stark is terrific for its sparse yet effective piano-based score that is low-key to play into the drama as well as the sense of longing from the young novices while music supervisor Tyler Bradley Walker provides a bit of classical music including a piece by Avro Part.
The casting by Sig De Miguel and Stephen Vincent is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Chris Zylka as Cathleen’s father, Sasha and Eliza Mason in their respective roles as the 12 and 7 year-old Cathleen, Marco St. John as the convent priest Father Luca, and Denis O’Hare in a terrific one-scene performance as Archbishop McCarthy as a top Catholic official who talks to Saint-Clair about the changes from the Vatican II and tells her to stop with these old ideas of punishment. The performances of Morgan Saylor, Eline Powell, Liana Liberto, and Maddie Hasson are fantastic in their respective roles as Evelyn, Candace, Emily, and Sissy as nuns-in-trainings and novices who deal with the cruelty and confessions they have to reveal as well as the pressure to show their devotion to God. Rebecca Dayan is superb as Sister Emanuel as a new transfer whom the girls are suspicious about as she later becomes concerned for Cathleen’s well-being as she later gets close to Cathleen.
Julianne Nicholson is excellent as Cathleen’s mother Nora as a woman who isn’t into the idea of religion as she later becomes concerned with Cathleen’s health as she confronts Saint-Clair about what she’s doing. Dianna Argon is brilliant as Sister Mary Grace as a warm and caring nun who teaches the young novices as she is open to the ideas of the Vatican II where she starts to question Saint-Clair’s views that would later lead to trouble. Melissa Leo is amazing as Reverend Mother Marie Saint-Clair as the Mother Superior who is trying to instill her ideals of sacrifice to see if the novices are able to prove their devotion through acts of cruelty as it relates to her reaction towards the emergence of reform from the Vatican II. Finally, there’s Margaret Qualley in a phenomenal performance as Cathleen Harris as a young woman who is fascinated by faith as she decides to become a nun as she later copes with the cruelty she is getting from Saint-Clair, her struggle to be devoted to God, and her growing sexual awakening as it’s a mesmerizing performance from Qualley.
Novitiate is an incredible film from Margaret Betts that features great performances from Margaret Qualley, Julianne Nicholson, Dianna Argon, and Melissa Leo. Along with its superb ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, and a riveting story relating to faith and conflict between body and spirit. It’s a film that explore the world of faith as well as what some will do to devote themselves to God amidst a sense of change that was emerging in the Catholic Church that threatened their ideals. In the end, Novitiate is a sensational film from Margaret Betts.
© thevoid99 2018
Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Steven Rogers, I, Tonya is the story of the figure skater Tonya Harding and the notoriety she gained when she had supposedly planned the attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan in 1994 before its Winter Olympics. The film is an unconventional bio-pic of sorts that explores Harding’s troubled life as well as her tumultuous relationship with her mother and husband as Margot Robbie plays Harding. Also starring Sebastian Stan, Julianne Nicholson, Caitlin Carver, Bobby Cannavale, and Allison Janney. I, Tonya is a witty and entertaining film from Craig Gillespie.
In 1994, the world of figure skating went upside down when figure skater Nancy Kerrigan had been attacked just a month before the Winter Olympics at Lillehammer, Norway was to happen. News then emerged that a rival skater in Tonya Harding was involved in the attack because of her ex-husband who conspired with a friend to hire two men to put a hit on her yet Harding would deny her involvement that unfortunately lead to the end of her figure skating career. The film is about Harding as it’s told in a documentary-style of sorts set nearly 20 years after the incident where Harding, her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan), former coach Diane Rawlinson (Julianne Nicholson) and her mother LaVona Golden (Allison Janney) give their take on what happened and about Harding from her desire to be a figure skating champion to later becoming a woman of great notoriety.
Steven Rogers’ screenplay takes a back-and-forth narrative of various characters reflecting on the events in Harding’s life including Harding herself as well as moments that played into the many different versions of the truth. Notably in a moment where Harding and Gillooly have their marital problems where Harding tries to shoot Gillooly with a shotgun but Harding said “that didn’t happen” to the camera yet Gillooly disputes that. Yet, the story is all about Tonya as she was someone who had to endure the physical and verbal abuse of her mother as a child and later as a teen and an adult while having to create her costumes herself with the little money she makes as an adult. For all of her skills and being the first American skater to complete the triple axel that would give her a victory at Nationals in 1991. Many in the world of figure skating feel that she doesn’t have the look nor the typical background that she needs to be the poster girl for figure skating which is something she would battle during the course of the film. Even as she would have to endure the scrutiny she would receive in her supposed involvement over the Kerrigan attack.
Craig Gillespie’s direction does bear elements of style yet much of the compositions are straightforward in its mixture of documentary and dramatic recreation. Shot on various locations in and around Atlanta, GA as well as parts of Macon, GA as Portland and bits of Detroit, Gillespie captures a period in time before the era of 24-hours news and rampant media coverage that was to become prevalent during the 1990s. While there are some wide shots of the location including some of the skating scenes that are shown to get a scope of how big figure skating was in the early 1990s. Much of Gillespie’s direction rely on close-ups and medium shots to play into the dramatic events in Harding’s life with elements of dark humor as it relate to these moments where the fourth wall is broken. While much of the film is shot in a 2:39:1 aspect ratio, the documentary interviews are shot in the 1:33:1 full-frame aspect ratio as it play into the characters that include a TV producer in Martin Maddox (Bobby Cannavale) talking about the Kerrigan attack.
It all play into the events and versions of what had happened with Harding knowing that her story and her denials over what happened won’t be heard by anyone. There is some truth to what she would say as it adds to the notoriety that she’s unfortunately gained as it relates to what the public wants and what figure skating wants. At the end of the day, all Harding wanted to do was skate as there is an element of heartbreak as it relates to Harding’s fate but there is that comfort to the fact that amidst all of the abuse from her mother and her ex-husband and all of the bullshit that she had to endured. All she wanted was to be loved as there was that brief moment where America did love her. Overall, Gillespie creates a compelling yet exhilarating film about a figure skater and the notoriety she gained over the assault of rival competitor.
Cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis does excellent work with the film’s cinematography from the usage of low-key lighting for some of the scenes at night including the fantasy of Harding killing Kerrigan as well the usage of grainy film stock and video for some of the documentary footage. Editor Tatiana S. Riegel does brilliant work with the editing as it play into some of the film’s humor with its rhythmic cuts as well as some montage-style editing for some of the training sequences. Production designer Jade Healy, with set decorator Adam Willis and art director Andi Crumbley, does fantastic work with the look of the interiors of the homes Harding had lived in as well as the look of the skating rink where Harding learned her craft. Costume designer Jennifer Johnson does nice work with the costumes as it play into the period of the late 80s/early 90s as well as the dresses that figure skaters had to wear for competition.
Hair designer Adruitha Lee and prosthetic designer Vincent Van Dyke do terrific work with the look of the characters from the hairstyles Harding had as a teenager and as an adult as well as the look of LaVona. Special effects supervisors John S. Baker and Jeffrey D. Woodrel, with visual effects supervisor Jean-Marc Demmer, do amazing work with some of the visual effects in not just elements of set-dressing but also in the skating scenes for some of the big jumps that Harding makes. Sound editor Dave Paterson does superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the skating performances as well as some of the domestic chaos that Harding endures. The film’s music by Peter Nashel is wonderful for orchestral bombast as well as some somber pieces to play into the drama while music supervisors Susan Jacobs and Jen Moss create a killer soundtrack that features a lot of the music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s from acts/artists like Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, Supertramp, En Vogue, Heart, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Dire Straits, Cliff Richard, Christopher Stills, Violent Femmes, Chicago, Bad Company, Laura Branigan, Mark Batson, and Doris Day with the Paul Weston Orchestra.
The casting by Lindsay Graham and Mary Vernieu is great as it feature some notable small roles from Dan Triandiflou as Diane’s lawyer husband Bob Rawlinson, Bojana Novakovic as one of Harding’s coaches during her early 90s time, Ricky Russert as the dim-witted hitman Shane Stant who would hit Kerrigan, Anthony Reynolds as the driver for Stant in Derrick Smith, Caitlin Carver as Nancy Kerrigan, and McKenna Grace as the young Tonya who loves to skate but still deals with the abuse of her mother. Paul Walter Hauser is superb as Gillooly’s idiot friend Shawn Eckhardt who does speak in interviews dated in the late 90s as someone who claims to do all of this shit involving espionage and such yet is a total moron as he thinks he does all of these things but ends up making things much worse.
Julianne Nicholson is fantastic as Diane Rawlinson as Harding’s coach from childhood till the late 80s early in her professional career who is aware of Harding’s gift and passion for skating as she would return for the 1994 Olympics to make sure things go right for her. Bobby Cannavale is excellent as Martin Maddox as former TV producer for the 90s tabloid show Hard Copy who talks about the whole Kerrigan incident as well as display that sleaziness that was emerging in the media that he admits to being a part of. Sebastian Stan is brilliant as Jeff Gillooly as Harding’s husband whom she falls for while in her teens as someone that is fascinated by Harding but is also frustrated by her leading to him beating her up at times where Stan brings a complexity to someone who is a screw-up but also a well-meaning person who loves Tonya but also despises her.
Allison Janney is phenomenal as Tonya’s mother LaVona as a woman that is also quite complex despite the fact that she’s a very awful person and a terrible mother. Yet, Janney’s performance is filled with a lot of dark humor as she is seen in interviews wearing an IV while smoking a cigarette, drinking alcohol, and having a parrot on her shoulder as there’s something about her that is just filled with cynicism as a way to drive her daughter to greatness but it comes with a fault as it’s really Janney in one of her best roles to date. Finally, there’s Margot Robbie in a spectacular performance as Tonya Harding in the way she brings in this sense of childlike desire to be loved but also someone with a real chip on her shoulder. Robbie has this sense of energy in the way she deals with her life but also a humility into someone that knows she doesn’t have much to offer as her only real escape from reality is on the skating rink. With the help of choreographer Sarah Kawahara and skating doubles Heidi Munger and Anna Malkova for the wide shots in the skating scenes. Robbie would showcase that energy and determination of a woman just wanting to be the best only to be blindsided by what her husband did as there is a sadness that Robbie displays as someone who just wanted to skate but also this sense of contentment into a woman that at least knew she was the best for a while as it is a crowning achievement for Robbie.
I, Tonya is a sensational film from Craig Gillespie that features top-notch performances from Margot Robbie and Allison Janney. It’s a film that doesn’t play by the rules of the ideas of the bio-pic while displaying some ideas of what could be true and what could be false in this story that was part of something strange and surreal during that period of sensationalized media of the 1990s. It’s also a film that explores the life of a young woman who was part of that culture for all of the wrong reasons as it’s that part of notoriety that will be around her for all of her life. In the end, I, Tonya is a phenomenal film from Craig Gillespie.
Craig Gillespie Films: (Mr. Woodcock) – Lars and the Real Girl - (Fright Night (2011 film)) – (Million Dollar Arm) – (The Finest Hours) - I, Tonya
© thevoid99 2018
