Cathy Yan's " Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)"
Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald
It’s hard to take your eyes off Margot Robbie in BIRDS OF PREY. As Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood she was playful, sympathetic, and innocent. Here she is violent, erratic, insane —- and weirdly charming. You certainly wouldn’t want to run into her Harley Quinn in a dark alley but it is fun to watch her up there on the big screen in all her color and craziness.
One of the best things about this movie is how it handles backstories for the main characters, starting with an ingratiating animated overture about Harley herself. I would have enjoyed seeing even more backstories especially about Rosa Perez’ cop, Renee Montoya; maybe in the director’s cut.
Overall this film moves along with color and energy as it’s propelled by the interplay of the disenfranchised crew Harley gathers about her along the way. Also, Ewan McGregor, last seen as a sympathetic character in Doctor Sleep, shines as the slimy mob boss. Amusingly, we get to see Margot Robbie perform “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” which is a sly shoutout to an old McGregor film, Moulin Rouge.
Special praise is due also to the director’s masterful orchestration of this film’s editing, photography, costumes, and action sequences. Throughout the film the stunt work and athleticism are well integrated with the story and reminiscent of what we see in Christopher Nolan films such as the Batman trilogy and Inception.
For a good double bill I recommend this movie and Batman: The Killing Joke.
Review copyright (c) 2020 by Dennis D. McDonald
