The Emancipation of The Female Lead

We all know the story of the psychopath who wants nothing more than to accrue power while he watches the world burn, but what about the tale of the dame who lives and breathes chaos and is emotionally complex to boot? Now take that, add witty dialogue, vibrant outfits to die for, dope music, a splash of violence, and an ensemble cast as brilliant as the lead, and you have yourself a movie that dazzles and entertains.

And boy does Margot Robbie dazzle as Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), DC’s 2020 release that tells the story of a Harley Quinn who has found herself without her counterpart, the Joker, and must rebuild and decide who she is when the madman Roman Sionis (played by Ewan Mcgregor) decides he wants her dead. What ensues is two hours of nonstop amusement for the audience, as well as a piece of media feminists can get behind. That isn’t where the interest stops either, as it is made evident within the first shot of the film that Birds of Prey is not your average superhero movie-- actually, anyone who has a working knowledge of DC Comics knows it isn’t “superhero” in the slightest!

Unlike most superhero movies which establish the threat early on in the story, Birds of Prey takes a different approach, opening on a rapid series of animated sequences in which Robbie narrates the life of Harley Quinn up to the point in which the film takes place. After that, it follows Harley through her mood swings as she goes through the stages of breakup grief that most, if not all, watchers can relate to and sympathize with. Of course the whole hair chopping, binge eating, hyena-buying, crying montage is only made better by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts’ “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” playing in the background. That and Harley’s unreliable narration throughout the opening within the first three minutes serves to perfectly encapsulate the mood of the character as well as set the tone for the movie as a zany but serious affair.

We continue to follow Harley as she later overhears a group of her roller derby teammates talking behind her back about her relationship status. It is this moment which begins the movie in earnest, because in her drunken state Harley decides to blow up Ace Chemicals as a means of updating her and the Joker’s relationship to “broken up for good.” Of course in doing so she declares to the entire city of Gotham that she is no longer protected by the Joker and is thus, fair game. And man oh man is Harley about to discover that a lot of people want her dead!

Soon after that we meet Roman Sionis and his right-hand-man Victor Zsasz (played Chris Messina), who are introduced as the sadistic and narcissistic duo they are in one of the film’s more gruesome scenes in which they peel off the faces of a captured family who earlier refused to work with Sionis (remember, this is not a movie for kids!). The entire scene is set apart from the ones before it because it subverts yet another common DC trope by giving us simple villains and complex antiheroes, instead of the other way around. In many of the superhero films released in the last two decades there has been a phenomenon in which the audience finds the villains more compelling than the counterparts for which they are meant to cheer-- there have been exceptions to this, of course, but one in ten superhero movies has them. This makes Birds of Prey all the more of a gem while also making the antagonists feel all the more unhinged. That in and of itself is quite the feat considering how many wacky characters are in the film.

Within the next twelve minutes of the film we are further introduced to the myriad of people that have it out for Harley, as well as Detective Renee Montoya (played by Rosie Perez), the woman who helps to tie several of our main cast together but more importantly, causes the destruction of Harley’s perfect hangover-curing bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. After discovering within six minutes that Renee has a terrible boss, an awkward relationship with the DA, and a drinking problem, it is also revealed that she is attempting to build a case against Sionis-- thus bringing in the plotline of the Bertinelli diamond and the girl in possession of it, Cassandra Cain (played by Ella Jay Basco) that our film centers around. In quick succession the characters of Black Canary (played by Jurnee Smollet-Bell) and Huntress (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) are introduced as key players in the story before everything once again cuts back to Harley, who has infiltrated the police station in search of Cassandra Cain. The bright colors and ridiculousness of the breakin are balanced out with brilliant choreography and music (Jucee Froot’s “Danger”) in such a way that becomes memorable within seconds.

Now, onto the spoilery bits!

As narration does become a bit disjointed as if reflecting Harley’s own brain, the story goes back to the beginning of the diamond debacle where we see Cassandra Cain, a young pickpocket and neighbor of Black Canary, stealing the Bertinelli diamond from Zsasz’s pocket. Zsasz and Canary, who had been tasked to pick the diamond up for Sionis so that he could use it to locate the fortune of the massacred Bertinelli mafia family, try to catch Cassandra. However, she is quickly picked up by the cops when her greediness gets her caught by an older woman and thus begins the race for the girl. Meanwhile a recently-captured-by-Sionis Harley bargains for her life by offering to find Cassandra and retrieve the diamond.

Thus ends the disjointed narration that brilliantly reflects Harley’s thinking style and the voiceovers finally end. It is at this spot that we once again come back to the main point: Harley in the precinct, kicking ass and looking for Cassandra. When she does she has to fight her way out when accidentally freeing all the prisoners who have grievances, all while protecting the girl. The same girl who, after being rescued, tells Harley that she swallowed the diamond to keep police from taking it when she was detained. What then ensues is several minutes of fun as Cassandra and Harley bond over robbing a grocery store for and dog food for the hyena, Bruce (yes, named after Bruce Wayne) and laxatives, watching cartoons and painting nails. The sisterly moment is quickly destroyed, however, when cops show up at Harley’s door while someone else looking to kill Harley bombs her apartment.

In the following moments which would be considered the low point of the protagonist, Harley phones Sionis and tells him she has Cassandra and wants to meet at an abandoned funhouse. When she and Cassandra arrive she tapes the kid to a toilet (in true Harley fashion) before being ambushed by Renee Montoya. Seeing as Renee is drunk, Harley makes quick work of knocking her out of the nearest window. Before she can appreciate the small victory though, Zsasz and Canary, whom Sionis sent to retrieve Cassandra, arrive and incapacitate her. In the following moments, Zsasz threatens Harley, turns on Canary (who he believes betrayed them to Renee), and is then shot in the neck with a crossbow bolt. The sudden appearance of Huntress provides relief for the main cast, new interest, as well amusement when she becomes frustrated in being nicknamed “crossbow killer.” Renee enters the scene once again, injured but not dead after her short fall, and reveals to everyone that Huntress is the last remaining member of the Bertinelli family.

Having had Canary’s betrayal revealed by Zsasz before he died, Sionis brings things to a head for the climax of the film with an army whose sole job is to retrieve Cassandra and kill the women protecting her. With no other choice but to team up, Harley and the others fight to protect Cassandra in what is arguably one of the most visually entertaining and creative action scenes in a superhero-type film to date. However, in chaos created when Renee is shot (don’t worry, she’s wearing a Harley-approved bulletproof corset!) Sionis’ men are able to capture Cassandra. A chase then ensues with Harley on skates being dragged behind Huntress on her motorcycle, another distinctly unique piece of action within the film that keeps your eyes locked on the screen. When Harley finally catches up to Sionis and Cassandra, she is unable to catch him with the one bullet she had in her gun. Thankfully, Cassandra’s sticky fingers worked their magic yet again and it is revealed that she placed a grenade (stolen from Harley, of course) onto Sionis. What follows is a delightful gorey explosion of Sionis bits off of a pier and into the ocean below, effectively removing the threat to the main cast.

The film then ties itself up neatly with Cassandra finally getting the diamond out, Canary, Huntress and Renee deciding to form a vigilante group called “Birds of Prey,” and Harley pawning to diamond for a fast stack of cash-- oh, and taking Cassandra on as her apprentice. The chaos is closed for the time being as Harley finally gets her egg, bacon and cheese sandwich while “Woman” by Ke$ha blares in the background.

Despite all that’s packed into it Birds of Prey never misses a beat and keeps the attention of even the most ADHD brains (speaking firsthand!) while managing to delve into many problems women (and men) face, be it sexual harassment and/or assault, the fallout of abuse and neglect in relationships and childhood, and so much more. On the surface Birds of Prey is entertaining, but if one pays a little more attention it becomes a story about finding oneself and rebuilding after experiencing trauma, as well as one of community and the healing that can occur by finding others who have had similar experiences... and if some hijinx occur around all of that to keep peoples’ eyes on the screen, that’s just a perk!