Assignment 1- Getting Into Character: Character and Characterisation

The observable traits in Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Tonya Harding in the film I, Tonya (2017) are, as story theorist Robert McKee proposes, a cluster of qualities that seen collectively form Tonya’s characterisation (McKee 1999). If we examine Tonya in the film we would notice, she has a seemingly low intelligence quotient, she’s female, her speech is audacious (more on speech here), she slumps her shoulders forward slightly, walks with a quick pace, has a masculine quality to her movement (contrary to her balletic movement on the ice), her home, car and costuming are run down and look as though they aren’t cared for well, she has no education other than as a figure skater, she works as a waitress in a rundown cafe when not on the ice, her personality can at times seem a little primitive, she values her success, yearns to be accepted by her mother and to be loved by the world.

Knowing these things, we can start to unpack how Tonya’s characterisation contributes to and in some ways contradict her true character. McKee (1999, p. 103) claims “A hidden nature waits concealed behind a facade of traits”. He argues that the only way to lift this facade is to observe what choices a character makes under pressure. There are many examples we could draw from the film where Tonya is placed under pressure, often we will see her respond aggressively to conflict, at one point even attempting to shoot her boyfriend with a rifle. It would be therefore easy to feel unsympathetic towards Tonya when she does find herself in bad situations. However, the scene below showcases the moment when Tonya is under debatably the most pressure in the film. Here we observe a vastly different response to the one we might anticipate, a reaction that contradicts everything about her characterisation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYyA7wu2mEU

This scene arguable contains the highest stakes for Tonya where she has the most to lose. Here she is uncombative, composed, and responded with pleading instead of fighting. For the first time we see her lost for words, she is not what she appears to be. This is the final turn in Tonya’s character arc, a moment where her character contradicts the characterisation. Although previously placed under pressure this is by far the most difficult situation the character has needed to navigate.

We have discovered that under true pressure, Tonya makes the choice to plead and reason, then finally submits to her fate. Therefore, we might conclude that without the mask of the character traits observed above, Tonya is someone we can all understand and connect with, she is fragile, desperate, and broken. The element of surprise when Tonya doesn’t respond as we predict she should, is satisfying. It gives the audience a reason to forgive her and perhaps even defend her wrongdoing.


References:

I, Tonya 2017, DVD, 30WEST, New York, NY, USA, directed by Craig Gillespie.

McKee, R 1999, Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting, Methuen Publishing Ltd, London, UK.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*
*