Sharp turn on the ice
Joanne Froggatt and Ioan Gruffudd star in this six-part British psychological thriller about a teacher and a surgeon whose first date has far-reaching consequences. ‘‘Slick, layered and, in being centred on two people’s wildly different recollections of sexual intercourse, did a deft job in keeping us stumped as to whose version is correct,’’ wrote The Times’ Carol Midgley. Directed by The Wire actress Sonja Sohn, this documentary follows the activists, police officers, community leaders and gang affiliates who struggled to hold the US city together after the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in police custody. ‘‘It invites you to think about a host of things: order and disorder, passion and prudence, parents and children, systemic oppression and individual initiative,’’ wrote the Los Angeles Times’ Robert Lloyd. James Corden hosts the 60th edition of American music’s big night. This year’s event includes performances by the likes of Lady Gaga and Pink and a special Broadway tribute honouring the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Our own Lorde is up for Album of the Year for the much-admired Melodrama. Red Carpet coverage begins on E! at 11.30am. Hermione Norris and Lee Ingleby star in this new British drama about a man who is suddenly freed from prison on a legal technicality, despite having been convicted of murdering his wife. Though he always protested his innocence, a cloud of suspicion still hangs heavily over him as he seeks to rebuild his life and reacquaint himself with his children, who are now being brought up by his wife’s sister. Adapted from Yasmine Akram’s 2010 one-woman play 10 Dates With Mad Mary, Darren Thornton’s 2016 feature debut is a hilarious Irish rom-com filled with memorable moments. From a cringe-worthy Mamma Miathemed hen’s do to Mary’s Gran’s withering assessment of her Mum, ‘‘A sniper wouldn’t take you out’’, this Irish Bridesmaidsmeets-Muriel’s-Wedding offers plenty of good craic during its slim, but satisfying running time. – James Croot
It is understandable but gutting when she marries her childhood sweetheart and then pays the price – again, and again, and again.
I, Tonya (R16) 120 mins YOU’D be hard pressed to have made it through the 1990s without knowing about ‘‘Tonya vs Nancy’’ and the infamous knee-capping incident.
Even in my relatively sportsambivalent household, everyone had heard of a triple axel. With all the drama surrounding this Snow White and Rose Red of championship figure-skating, the 1994 Winter Olympics suddenly held so much televisual allure.
I, Tonya is reminiscent of last year’s excellent Borg McEnroe in that it may seem a little late in the day to delve into the legendary rivalry and outlandish personalities of a story a quarter of a century old.
But like the tennis tale, I, Tonya delivers illuminating, heartbreaking insights into Tonya Harding’s childhood (raised by a tyrannical and uncompromising gorgon of a mother, a role which is already garnering Allison Janney deserved acclaim) and paints a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a young woman who, ultimately, just wanted to be loved.
Central to the film’s solar system of sharp performances is 27-year-old Australian Margot Robbie, whose break-out role in Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street set her course towards superstardom and whose work here has garnered her first Oscar nomination.
Although she’s not entirely convincing playing Tonya at 15, once she’s lost the braces, Robbie embodies the self-consciously ‘‘white trash’’ champ-in-waiting (‘‘She doesn’t fit in, she stands out,’’ barks the mother) who knows her poor, uneducated life leaves her with one career option. It is understandable but gutting when she marries her childhood sweetheart and then pays the price – again, and again, and again.
Like the signature triple axel, director Craig Gillespie’s movie is fast-moving, exhilarating and requires lots of slow-motion so the audience can take in every detail. He hammers us with a periodappropriate pop soundtrack and cinematography that swoops around figure skaters and zooms into close-ups, evoking the crime caper of GoodFellas if not intentionally then inevitably.
Although heavily stylised and employing myriad storytelling forms (interviews, dramatisations, direct address), the method rather suits the audacious tale, with its largerthan-life characters and the Fargo-esque comedy of errors that unfolds.
To prove I can still be openminded once I’ve taken against someone, it’s worth admitting I loathed Gillespie’s two previous films, The Finest Hours and Million Dollar Arm, for resorting to cliche egregiously. But, here, he has done a stunning job of harvesting the best of filmmaking’s cliches and using them to tell Tonya’s story with all the panache of an ‘‘Ice Capades’’ show that the 4-year old skater aspired to.
Thanks to sharp writing, the talents of Robbie and Janney, and, at heart, compassion for its subject, I, Tonya is frequently hilarious, crucially revealing and resoundingly enjoyable. – Sarah Watt