The best part of Suicide Squad was unequivocally the casting and subsequent performance of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. The beloved comic book miscreant came to life in live action in a manner that was equally menacing as she was wickedly entertaining. She’s back, and Harley Quinn has her own movie. But make no mistake, she is in no way going at it solo. She’s brought an entire flock, the Birds of Prey, with her and baddie Ewan McGregor’s Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask.
Quinn’s first post-Suicide Squad flick has all the colorful pomp and circumstance that one would expect from a film that featured her unique sense of style and wicked sense of humor. Robbie has a ball behind all that pony-tailed multi-hued hair with white mime-like makeup and myriad of tattoos. It’s true what they say, if the actors are having a blast, so too will the viewer and that has never been more the case than the lengthy monikered but appropriately titled Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. See, all those “broads”—Quinn’s words, not mine—in Gotham that join her to battle Sionis and his legion of goons, are each in dire need of a little freeing in every sense of the word.
As we catch up with Harley, she and “Mistah J” are on the outs. The Joker, the love of her life, who she dove into a vat of chemicals to prove her devotion, are splitsville. So much of Quinn’s persona and personal definition, post-psychologist career, was being the girl on the arm of The Clown Prince of Crime. Luckily for her, she gets swept into this criminal saga that allows her to channel her rage in righting a wrong and in the process, make some girlfriends who, for lack of a better phrase, speak her language.
The group, aka The Birds of Prey, include a former cop—Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), the daughter of a Gotham crime boss who watched in horror as her family was massacred in front of her eyes, Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an associate of Sionis (that has had just about enough of his demeaning demeanor) who possesses one killer voice and a young girl who had the fortune (or misfortune, depending on how you look at things) of being at the right place at the right time—Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco)—whose life firmly lies in the Birds of Prey’s collective hands. Cain may have swallowed an enormous diamond that is the key to Black Mask’s designs on ruling this iconic town with an iron fist. Lucky for her, like I said, it’s all in how you look at it, she looks up to Quinn, so these two’s connected fate does a lot for both women. Quinn’s inner mama bear is rather fierce … a fact that should in fact shock no one.
There are female empowerment films that overtly wear that aspect of their DNA with pride, and then there is Birds of Prey. This is a DC Comics page to screen effort that continues the Warner Bros. subsidiary’s hot streak (with Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Shazam!) and it firmly feels a stellar spoke in that wickedly awesome wheel. Christina Hodson’s script fatefully found a director in Cathy Yan who possessed a vision for the first Harley Quinn solo joint that could not have been more of a match made in heaven.
Screenwriter, director and star have a repartee that feels as organic as they come in the cinema. In fact, everyone here is on the same proverbial page and that adoration for the character and this universe comes through on every single frame. There is something that needs to be stated here and that is how the film may seem like it is one long “I am woman, here me roar.” But the truth is this is a film that by the end, in hindsight, feels genderless in its scope, appeal, message and execution. The issues encountered by our protagonists from our antagonists mirror those experienced by countless souls in a cornucopia of films across Hollywood history. That is just one element that makes Birds of Prey so bloody brilliant and all honestly … an all-out balls to the wall wicked good time.
Robbie is going to have one amazing weekend. The Australian actress is an Oscar nominee for her work on Bombshell and will discover on Sunday whether she will be adding “Oscar winner” to her list of what I did this weekend accomplishments beyond her sure to win the box office for her DC comic book movie that opens the same weekend as the Academy Awards.
Her work in Yan’s film allowed the thespian to showcase a multitude of layers to her anti-hero that were not a needed or utilized in Suicide Squad. There’s revenge. There’s that female empowering message of finding one’s voice and purpose beyond being someone’s “girl” and a theme that burns bright throughout the movie is one that should be celebrated. As a father, it may seem strange that I cannot wait until my daughter is old enough to witness the glory of Quinn in her latest incarnation. Each and every character strikes out on their own and by being a part of an all-female group, they discover their own strength, voice and tenor that is distinctively their own.
It all stems from its birth in the heart of the woman behind Quinn, Robbie. She also serves as an executive producer and as such, her handprints are all over The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. The actress impeccably masters the prose delivered by Hodson and explodes across the screen like one of her glitter bombs and makes it her own. Every single moment she is on the screen, Robbie commands our eyes. We move with her with the force of a laser beam. Yes, the camera adores her, but this goes way beyond screen presence. This is that intangible aspect of having “it” that filmmakers are always speaking about. The whole film is inhabited by actresses, who all possess “it.”
Most notably …Winstead. She rocks, and if Robbie is a glitter bomb of panache, then the veteran actress attacks Birds of Prey like a big black boot to the face! One could argue that she steals scenes from our lead repeatedly. Her take on The Huntress has us wanting a spin-off flick where she can let her badass flag fly. What Winstead achieves also is a credit to Hodson and how she not only built up these characters that are new to a majority of audiences, but how she had them interweave throughout the ups and downs of the narrative. Winstead has always been an actress whose name alone elevated a project to the must-see level of interest. Witnessing her inhabiting a woman whose journey began driven with rage-filled revenge and familial justice and seeing it evolve into an exercise of finding solace and solidarity in sisterhood just warmed the cockles of my soul.
Perez was given an incredibly empowering part and it’s glorious to see her back on the big screen, especially in a role that never has gender bias outrightly stated. But she clearly has been suffering from a bit too much head banging against the wall in frustration. Through her work with the Birds of Prey, she finds something she never had as a detective—unbridled support, and like-minded soul elevating camaraderie. Since Do the Right Thing in 1989, the actress brings something innately invigorating to every single part. Hopefully she’s hitting a new stride of excellence, what with her stellar work in last year’s The Dead Don’t Die opposite Bill Murray.
McGregor matches the ladies’ flair, note for note. He too is having an utter blast. The resonance and power of a flick in this milieu is largely found in how rich of a villain is crafted by the screenwriter. Hodson again scores enormously with her three-dimensional soul that is Sionis. The Scottish thespian has portrayed plenty of heroes (Obi-Wan Kenobi, anyone?). To experience his take on comic book villainy is nothing short of a blissful brilliance. When Black Mask entangles with some of the Birds individually, therein finds some truly special movie moments. In particular, Winstead and Robbie opposite McGregor should serve as a lesson in Comic Book heroes and villains.
Director Yan and screenwriter Hodson joined forces and produced a world that could have been littered with narrative landmines. There are the comic book purists who have been waiting for a film to feature Black Mask. There are countless Harley Quinn fans out there—thanks to her long comic book history, seismic arrival in Suicide Squad and the addition of a wildly popular animated television series on DC Universe. Heading into production, Yan and Hodson had to know that their work would be seriously scrutinized by those fanatics. Crafting the second cinematic coming of Harley Quinn might have been a thankless endeavor. Thanks to their collective talents, wise thematic choices and obvious care and well-researched history of this world, the dynamic duo will surely earn high praise for the stellar stroke of bodacious and bombastic brilliance.
Oh, one more thing. As she’s striking out on her own and establishing her independence, Quinn adopts a pet. First of all, the species she brings home is impeccable. Harley Quinn has a hyena! Secondly, the name she gives it will warm the souls of all those comic book fans out there. Quinn’s beloved pet is Bruce, for that “hunky Wayne guy.” Nailed it. Like everything else in this flamboyant world.
Grade: A-