Film of the Week: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

As vague as this may sound, this film is full of counterarguments. Things that can be easily criticised yet can be explained as intentional within the film’s style and narrative. Harley Quinn is just as crazy as the Joker is – her head is all over the place even on a good day. The two main examples I noticed are:

Criticism:

The first half is narrated by Harley herself, and right at the beginning of the film she states she doesn’t want to be like other storytellers and start wherever she wants to. Setting up the second act, the first half is all over the place. It’s barely linear.

Counterargument:

But that’s because Harley Quinn is telling us what happened and she’s doing whatever she wants. She’s crazy, so we’re going to get a crazy, all-over-the-place story.

Criticism:

This film can be seen as an origin story, not for Harley, but for the team, Birds of Prey. Imagine that, Harley Quinn gets her own solo movie but it’s not technically about her, but instead about three characters founding a team to fight crime. Harley can be viewed as a side character in her own movie. Those team members are The Huntress – who is stereotypically awkward (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead); Dinah Lance, the Black Canary – a metahuman with the ability to create sound waves by screaming (played by Jurnee Smollett-Bell); and Renee Montoya – a former cop who took the streets to fight crime when the Police force she was once a part of for years slowly failed the city (played by Rosie Perez).

Counterargument:

But read the title again. The team that forms is Birds of Prey. Harley gets caught up in all the mess when the people she wronged all wants to get revenge, and through trying to clear her name as best she could finds company with a teenage girl, Cassandra Cain - someone who just wants to get on with their life much the same as Harley (played by Ella Jay Basco). During the climatic battle at the end, whilst it was her idea to work together, it’s obvious that the only way they were ever going to get out of there is by working together, but once that moment’s over, she’s back to doing her own thing. She’s a side character in her own movie because she wants to be a side character in general, so she can go about just enjoying her crazy life.

Criticism:

The Joker was only mentioned but didn’t make a single appearance. This came from someone who saw the film before me. The Joker being Harley’s partner in the comics, and barely explored in Suicide Squad, it might have been nice to see them on screen together.

Counterargument:

I didn’t want the Joker to appear in the film. His appearance would have been unnecessary, especially within the story we’ve been given. Sure, he’s mentioned a few times, but that’s going to happen and was done naturally. Whilst we were all disappointed that we didn’t see their relationship properly explored in Suicide Squad, it was nonetheless enough to gain some understanding. In the comics, their relationship is probably the rockiest to ever hit a frame, beating that of any soap opera wedding. I’m glad he wasn’t featured in this film, because this was Harley Quinn’s movie, not their movie.

It was obvious Margot Robbie had an absolute blast making this film. I didn’t know until the end credits that she was also the executive producer of the film, which meant that she had a say in what happened throughout, adding to her enjoyment of playing a character that does whatever she wants, however she wants, and doesn’t look back. If you are a fan of Margot Robbie, you’ll have a blast watching this, too, but you do have to pay attention. Due to the nature of the way the story is told, it can be easy to get lost, so you can’t stick it on in the background.

For a comic book movie, it’s decent. For the DC Extended Universe, it’s much better than Suicide Squad.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)