A new Red Band trailer has dropped for awards hopeful “I, Tonya.” The Margot Robbie-starrer centers on world-renowned athlete turned punchline Tonya Harding. “My entire life I’ve been told I wouldn’t amount to anything,” says Tonya in the trailer. And yet by her own estimation, she went on to become “the best figure skater in the world at one point in time.”
Though she made history with her stunning triple axels, Harding’s legacy has everything to do with what occurred off the rink. “I, Tonya” revisits one of the most controversial moments in sports history — the infamous attack on Harding’s fellow U.S. skater and competitor Nancy Kerrigan.
But the spot doesn’t just emphasize Tonya’s alleged involvement with that incident. Instead, it focuses on Tonya’s relationship with her physically and emotionally abusive mother, played by Allison Janney. We see her describing Tonya’s coach as a “cunt,” and she bluntly tells Tonya, “I made you a champion knowing you’d hate me for it. That’s a sacrifice a mother makes.”
The pic depicts Harding’s harrowing treatment from her mother and her ex-husband (Sebastian Stan, “Captain America” franchise). The dark dramedy also suggests that Harding was largely unaware of the plot to injure Kerrigan.
“I, Tonya” made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Since then, there’s been awards chatter surrounding the film, especially Robbie and Janney’s performances. The former produced the project, which is directed by Craig Gillespie (“The Finest Hours”) and written by Steven Rogers (“Love the Coopers”).
Check out the NSFW trailer to see Tonya’s amazing reaction to a judge who makes a snide comment about her appearance. “I, Tonya” hits theaters December 8.
