Review of Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) by Markhreviews — 23 Feb 2020

Last year, while promoting his film “The Irishman,” Martin Scorsese compared comic book movies to theme parks, saying, “It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.” Clearly, Scorsese had just left an advance screening of “Birds of Prey.”.

The director and screenwriter will remain nameless, in the hope that they can put this unfortunate effort behind them and go on to use their obvious skills to make a film that’s interesting and important at some point in the future. “Birds of Prey” is simply a bad idea poorly executed. For some reason, the creative team has confused chaos with character development. And they seem to believe that, by embracing anarchy, they are relieved of any obligation to develop a coherent story. It doesn’t work for the Safdie Brothers (that’s right, “Uncut Gems”) and it sure doesn’t work here. Filling any film with manic activity eventually gets tiresome when it’s all just totally random.

In case you care, Harley (Margot Robbie) gets into conflict with supervillain Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), who tends to cut the faces off people who annoy him. In order to get back into Roman’s good graces, since she no longer has the protection of Joker, she must find and deliver to Roman a gigantic diamond. Blah, blah, blah.

The actors here really aren’t to blame. Robbie (so deserving of Oscar consideration for “I, Tonya” and this year’s “Bombshell”) has committed fully to the irrational exuberance of her character. Regrettably, she was apparently contractually committed to doing incessant voiceovers in an accent that made me yearn to stab my eardrums with sharp pencils. Her accent, and the content she is required to deliver, make the voiceovers in “Deadpool” seem Shakespearean. In “Deadpool,” there’s at least an amusing tone of self-deprecation. But then, self-deprecation and irony require self-awareness and this film has none.

Given the similar source material, it’s not surprising that “Birds of Prey” trades in the same nihilism as this year’s “Joker.” But unlike “Joker,” this film offers no broader social commentary, no larger point.

One strong element of the film is its approach to the violence that appears on the screen in nearly non-stop fashion. Using a series of continuous, slow-motion long shots, the creative team has given the violence an almost balletic appearance (in the Hong Kong style of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”).

The most unpardonable aspect of this film is its apparent belief that if it says “girl power” often enough or even hints at “female empowerment,” all sins will be forgiven. This is a film written, directed and starring women. But that doesn’t make it creative, interesting or worthwhile. In fact, at key points, the women demonstrate some startlingly male traits – self-absorption, an enthusiasm for irrational violence and, worst, a capacity to perceive other women as friends only when it’s convenient. All of this leaves any gender themes perched atop a very rickety thematic structure that threatens to topple under its own weight at any minute.