By Bill Friedell
Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey (Cathy Yan, 2020), based on the character of DC comics, feels like an R rated looney tunes and I don’t mean that as an insult. In a genre that has been at the forefront of pop culture, Birds of Prey feels like a breath of fresh air in terms of its style, structure, and tone. Acting as both a farce, a parody, a redemption story, and fun action movie, Birds of Prey takes advantage of the lesser known female characters of the DC Universe and delivers one of the more unique superhero films in recent years.
The film follows Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) who has recently broken up with infamous Batman villain, the Joker. As a result, Harley is vulnerable to everyone she and the Joker has wronged to have their revenge, such as Roman Sionis, aka the Black Mask (Ewan McGregar). Sionis not only wants revenge on Harley, he is after a diamond that contains an entire mob fortune. This ropes in various characters such as Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), a cop who’s putting together a case against Sionis, Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett), a singer for Sionis who becomes his personal driver, Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) a revenge seeking vigilante, and Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) a teenage pickpocket who holds the diamond Sionis seeks.
The two standout performances in this film are Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis. Robbie perfectly captures the manic, chaotic, and over the top nature of Harley while also giving her humanity both in her both in her comedic and tragic moments. McGregor delivers an over the top performance that makes him look like he’s having the time of his life while also being able to play a sinister sleaze.
The film follows Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) who has recently broken up with infamous Batman villain, the Joker. As a result, Harley is vulnerable to everyone she and the Joker has wronged to have their revenge, such as Roman Sionis, aka the Black Mask (Ewan McGregar). Sionis not only wants revenge on Harley, he is after a diamond that contains an entire mob fortune. This ropes in various characters such as Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), a cop who’s putting together a case against Sionis, Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett), a singer for Sionis who becomes his personal driver, Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) a revenge seeking vigilante, and Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) a teenage pickpocket who holds the diamond Sionis seeks.
The two standout performances in this film are Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis. Robbie perfectly captures the manic, chaotic, and over the top nature of Harley while also giving her humanity both in her both in her comedic and tragic moments. McGregor delivers an over the top performance that makes him look like he’s having the time of his life while also being able to play a sinister sleaze.
Structurally, the film takes a nonlinear approach to tell its story, which is something most superhero films rarely do. By doing this, it allows for the narrative to organically weave various characters’ stories together without losing momentum. The primary device that allows this nonlinearity is the use of Harley Quinn’s narration, feeling reminiscent of Shane Black’s Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005). Her madcap personality allows for a more chaotic (but motivated) story structure. While in the beginning, the narration can feel overbearing, it works for establishing its fourth wall breaking sensibility and for getting a read on her central motivations.
The use of Harley Quinn as the primary character and narrator also allows for stylistic experimentation. Whenever someone attacks Harley, a name and motivation would pop up similar to how the movie Suicide Squad (David Ayer, 2016) introduces members of the afomentioned name. The film also makes use of animation to explain Harley’s backstory. There’s even a break in the film for an homage to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks, 1953). While the placement of this homage initially threw me off and temporarily took me out of the film, on closer consideration, it actually tells exposition through the details given to the audience, the lyrics, the characters included in the homage and what they are doing, given the context of the rest of the scene around it.
The use of Harley Quinn as the primary character and narrator also allows for stylistic experimentation. Whenever someone attacks Harley, a name and motivation would pop up similar to how the movie Suicide Squad (David Ayer, 2016) introduces members of the afomentioned name. The film also makes use of animation to explain Harley’s backstory. There’s even a break in the film for an homage to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks, 1953). While the placement of this homage initially threw me off and temporarily took me out of the film, on closer consideration, it actually tells exposition through the details given to the audience, the lyrics, the characters included in the homage and what they are doing, given the context of the rest of the scene around it.
The inclusion of Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) gives the movie its heart, and functions as an important person in Harley's (Margot Robbie) journey, despite being a vastly different interpretation of the character when compared to the comic books.
The action is an easy selling point for seeing this film. The camerawork feels like it's taking a page from John Wick (Chad Stahelski, 2014), staying away from quick cuts and allowing for longer takes that show the choreography. It also makes good use of slow motion, not overusing it but rather highlighting moments of movement that don’t halt the momentum of the action scene.Two action scenes that stand out in particular are at the Gotham Police Station and the climactic fight at Amusement Mile. The Amusement Mile fight stands out as it makes excellent use of the funhouse location of the fight, incorporates all the Birds of Prey, and has a sequence that appears to be shot in one take. All these elements come together in a really exciting way.
The film seems to be interested in the idea of women breaking free from toxically masculine systems. Each Bird of Prey is under the thumb of someone who takes advantage of them or has hurt them. Sionis is the most overt toxic structure, as he is seen belittling women and trivialising other cultures by the way he talks about their masks. He is also shown to be severely insecure, as he lashes out whenever he is threatened.
Birds of Prey’s primary joy is the idiosyncrasies and stylistic flourishes both structurally and presentationally. With a combination of strong action directing and a character driven story structure, Birds of Prey creates a fun ensemble film that sets itself apart from other superhero films. While its sense of style and personality may be abrasive to some, I found it to be an fun, stylish, and creative addition to the superhero genre.
The film seems to be interested in the idea of women breaking free from toxically masculine systems. Each Bird of Prey is under the thumb of someone who takes advantage of them or has hurt them. Sionis is the most overt toxic structure, as he is seen belittling women and trivialising other cultures by the way he talks about their masks. He is also shown to be severely insecure, as he lashes out whenever he is threatened.
Birds of Prey’s primary joy is the idiosyncrasies and stylistic flourishes both structurally and presentationally. With a combination of strong action directing and a character driven story structure, Birds of Prey creates a fun ensemble film that sets itself apart from other superhero films. While its sense of style and personality may be abrasive to some, I found it to be an fun, stylish, and creative addition to the superhero genre.
