The whiplash I’ve acquired by reading updates between Batgirl‘s shocking cancellation and The Flash‘s shocking non-cancellation pushes me to ask: is the DCEU okay? Well, it’s rhetorical, because the answer is obviously no. While it was once laughable to know that there will be three different actors actively playing Batman, I’m now a little sad that nothing in this timeline is guaranteed. Did Will Smith really get SKWAD tattooed on himself only for Idris Elba to replace him just a few years later? Did Henry Cavill go through Man of Steel, Martha Kent vs Martha Wayne, Justice League, and Justice League: The Zack Snyder Cut to lose his million-dollar muscle mass to the rumored role of Reed Richards? Of course the DCEU isn’t okay.
But while it’s safe for now, let us revel in past victories. Birds of Prey, released in 2020 shortly before the pandemic emptied theaters, was a closed fist resurrected from the wildfire trash that was David Ayer’s Suicide Squad (no arguments or controversial takes will be allowed for this session). That fist, bruised and scratched, would belong to Margot Robbie, who thankfully reprises her role as Harley Quinn in this faux solo film (…and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Instead of retconning, Birds of Prey acknowledges the unfortunate events of 2016 and begins with a post-break-up Harley looking for her own ground to stand on. Though it doesn’t need to be explicitly stated, Harley Quinn the character and Birds of Prey the movie both seeking liberation certainly feels like a cheeky wink.
Once news break out in Gotham City that Harley is no longer under the Joker’s protection, she becomes a target for a lot of people with vendettas. One baddie in particular is Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), who seeks redemption following his exile from the family corporation. He plans to use the Bertinelli diamond as leverage, but is pickpocketed by a young Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). There are a few trade-off deals that implicate Harley into the search-and-seize of Cassandra, along with tough-nuts detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), mysterious club singer Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett), and a vengeful Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who will come together to form the titular girl gang and take down Roman. Naturally, villainous antics and hissing remarks are the foundation to a wonderful friendship.
To be clear, Birds of Prey is imperfect in the sense that fight scenes could be sharper, the expositional narrative could be reduced, and the jokes could be more raw. But I prefer roughing my teeth against the Gotham gravel than polished plots, trimmed performances, and 2.5 post-credit trailers of the conventional blockbuster. The one commendation I have of the DCEU is that the anticipation before each movie always feels electric to me. Even if the movie crashes and burns, it does so because it tried something new (and missed). This time, the prime cut of Birds of Prey doesn’t feel like it’s directed towards justification of die-hard fans desiring cinematic atonement; this is for the girlies who had been long forgotten since Charlie’s Angels. With all due respect to the male population, this is the type of movie I’d like to see with other women to celebrate women on screen for the simple action-ecstasy. Men who love it? Great! Men who trash it? Go shoot something and blow it up.
And yet, there are a few more badges of honor that Birds of Prey earns. Cathy Yan, the first Asian woman to direct a superhero film, had previously been in academic spaces and was a burgeoning short film auteur (and one full-length satire) by the time she occupied the Birds‘ director’s chair. The costuming — Harley’s flowing-confetti shoulder pads, the yassification of henchman Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina), Renee’s “I Shaved My Balls for This” ringer T-shirt — brought practical motion and pleasurable chuckles to outfits that would otherwise be masked by stiff suits and dull monochromatic colors. Some of the featured soundtrack songs are instant replays by themselves, but Harley being chased to a track reminiscent of Sandstorm is just tasteful. Even if it’s not the best movie, attempting to re-do, replace, or remix it is futile. Birds of Prey is that movie.
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
2020
dir. Cathy Yan
109 mins
Screening at the Coolidge Corner Theatre on Saturday, August 13 @ midnight! Part of the Spotlight on Women program
