Birds of Prey movie review: Margot Robbie soars in vibrantly violent DCEU gem | Hollywood - Hindustan Times
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Birds of Prey movie review: Margot Robbie soars in vibrantly violent DCEU gem

Hindustan Times | ByRohan Naahar
Feb 07, 2020 05:57 PM IST

Birds of Prey movie review: The DCEU cuts ties to Jared Leto’s Joker with this violent and vibrant comic book film, starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn.

Birds of Prey
Director - Cathy Yan
Cast - Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ewan McGregor 

Birds of Prey movie review: Harley Quinn doesn’t need the Joker anymore.
Birds of Prey movie review: Harley Quinn doesn’t need the Joker anymore.

Combining all the ingredients that make comic book bros break out in hives, Birds of Prey is a candy-coloured curveball of a movie that doubles as a feminist fable and an apology for the poorly received Suicide Squad.

It does away with that film’s convoluted tone and embraces the nuttier aspects of the monumentally mishandled DCEU, a series with which Birds of Prey has barely any connection — tonally and narratively. In fact, it spends its opening minutes literally cutting any ties it has to Suicide Squad, and, metaphorically, to its toxic legacy.

Watch the Birds of Prey trailer here 

I liked Suicide Squad. It reminded me of Batman: The Animated Series, a show that I watched obsessively growing up. Harley Quinn was created specifically for that show by writer Paul Dini. He’d be happy with what director Cathy Yan has done with her in Birds of Prey.

Once again played by Margot Robbie, Harley is having a difficult time getting over the Joker, with whom she has broken up sometime between the events of this film and Suicide Squad. But she hasn’t told anyone yet — partly because she’s still in denial, but more importantly, being the Joker’s girlfriend afforded her a certain immunity in the seedier corners of Gotham City, immunity that Harley is convinced she’ll lose the second she announces that she is no longer under Mr J’s protection.

Birds of Prey is essentially the story of Harley emerging from under the Joker’s shadow. Much has been written about the emotional abuse Harley has had to suffer as the Joker’s partner in crime over the years — in comics, video games and cartoon shows. But by removing the Clown Prince of Crime (the Harlequin of Hate, the Jester of Genocide) entirely from the narrative, Yan and her writer, Christina Hodson avoid confronting some of the more interesting aspects of their relationship.

It’s a missed opportunity, because despite never appearing in the flesh, the Joker haunts her like a particularly stubborn wart — unshakable and irritating. His face is visible on a dart board on Harley’s bedroom wall and his name is mentioned by dozens of characters throughout the movie. Curiously, however, Jared Leto’s likeness is never used; the Joker in Birds of Prey appears to be a campy composite of sorts.

Margot Robbie in a still from Birds of Prey.
Margot Robbie in a still from Birds of Prey.

He looks like the Joker of the ‘90s; a mixture of Jack Nicholson and Mark Hamill’s versions. This is also a good indication of the film’s tone. It’s interesting to note how, in the span of just over a decade, the pendulum has swung from Joel Schumacher’s lurid Batman films to the gritty realism of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, and back again. Designed by KK Barrett and vibrantly shot by cinematographer Matty Libatique, Birds of Prey has more in common with Schumacher’s kitschy aesthetic than the grounded tone of Nolan’s films. But the similarities are limited to the visuals, thankfully; Birds of Prey is infinitely better written than both Batman Forever and Batman & Robin combined.

Hodson’s screenplay channels the early films of Guy Ritchie, complete with a valuable MacGuffin, snazzy visual graphics, an overly complicated and non-linear structure. She even has Robbie serve as a relatively reliable narrator, and our guide in this densely populated world. The trio of women charged with spearheading the film — Yan, the director; Hodson, the writer; and Robbie, the producer — inject the film with a spirit of pride. It’s the sort of film in which one character, sensing another’s discomfort during a fight, offers her a scrunchie to keep the hair out of her eyes. In another scene, a character admires a cohort’s ability to fight in tight pants.

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But it takes a while for the gang to get together. For the most part, Birds of Prey is a Harley Quinn movie. And that is its biggest flaw. Because we know so little about the character — barring a hasty narration that hints at a troubled childhood, Harley’s life is a mystery — it is difficult to stick with her as she goes on the run from Gotham’s criminals, tracks down an elusive diamond, and tries her best to be a ‘not so terrible person’.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Margot Robbie and Jurnee Smollett-Bell in a still from Birds of Prey.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Margot Robbie and Jurnee Smollett-Bell in a still from Birds of Prey.

The ethics of rooting for a villain aside, Robbie brings an inherent likability to the character, but it’s Ewan McGregor who delivers the film’s standout performance as the flamboyant gangster Roman Sionis (Black Mask). Yan, despite her relative inexperience — this is her first studio film, and her second feature ever — appears to have a decent grasp of tone, although most of the action sequences seem to be the handiwork of John Wick director Chad Stahelski, who was roped in at the last minute to oversee reshoots. A warehouse brawl and a climactic car chase, in particular, are trademark Stahelski — intricately choreographed and edited with patience.

Birds of Prey has virtually no bearing on the larger DCEU; it’s baffling to me why Warner Bros. wants to insist on it even being part of the franchise at all. But as a standalone adventure, it’s a terrific showcase for Robbie’s talents as an actor. Her performance here is better than the one she’s currently nominated at the Oscars for.

(Hindustan Times doesn’t use star-rating system in its movie reviews.)

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The author tweets @RohanNaahar

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