STACK #187 May 2020

FEATURE FILM

to do it with such kindness is amazing. And then she pops into Harley and is just incredible. There’s nothing that Margot can’t do. She works her ass off and does not take where she has gotten to for a second. Everybody should take a note from her book.” Director Cathy Yan describes Birds of Prey ’s ensemble structure as something previously unseen in the superhero genre. “I love ensemble films. And the tone of this is quite different. It’s dark and humorous, sassy and irreverent. I love that tone which is quite similar to my film Dead Pigs (2018), despite how on paper it seems like opposite movies – a small Chinese-language indie to this. “But the way these five different characters come together, and the humour; I don’t think we have ever seen such contemporary and bawdy humour from female superheroes before.” Yan sees her movie as a big win for feminism. “I think it says a lot. It certainly means that women can work together and I think that unfortunately society has often pinned women against each other and we are programmed to be a little competitive towards one another because there has always only been that one spot. “Part of this story is that these women are not meant to be together, they are a total motley crew and even visually don’t look like they are a great team. They come from all walks of life, you have a cop and you have Harley Quinn. So when they come together, they are very suspicious and there’s conflict and it’s not like they magically get along. But at the same time, they end up working together beautifully, finding strength in numbers. Unfortunately, culturally I think a lot of women can be a little competitive with one another because of the patriarchy.” Yan certainly hopes for a time when nobody makes a big deal about her being a female director. “I hope that one day we don’t have to talk about my being a woman versus a man. But unfortunately women aren’t given the opportunities that men are and I am an exception to the rule. Hopefully it just becomes our new reality.”

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DID YOU KNOW? The shot of Harley Quinn as a roller-skater is lifted straight from 2013's Harley Quinn #1 comic. Her number "92" references the year of her debut in Batman: The Animated Series .

• Birds of Prey is out on May 13

L-R Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez and director CathyYan on the set

among other things. So I really wanted to use a little more of the acrobatic side in her fighting style in this film, so that trampoline stuff, for example, some of the really cool sh–t is not in there at all but the general bouncing around will be – and then the roller-skating I can do...” In a twisted homage to Girl Power, Harley Quinn – admittedly an unreliable narrator – is our guide through Birds of Prey . When Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis [Ewan McGregor], and his sadistic henchman, Victor Zsasz [Chris Messina], put a target on a young girl named Cass [Ella Jay Basco], the city is turned upside down looking for her. As Harley, Huntress [Mary Elizabeth Winstead], Black Canary [Jurnee Smollett-Bell] and Renee Montoya [Rosie Perez]’s paths collide, this unlikely quartet have no choice but to team up to take down Sionis.

Stepping into the shoes of the dastardly Zsasz is Chris Messina, discovering that it’s not always fun being a blonde when you have to maintain a regular bleaching routine. In awe of McGregor, he says, “I think the audience will be drawn to him as well as being completely frightened by him. He’s done an incredible job.” It doesn’t hurt that McGregor has some of the best lines, but Messina’s greatest praise is for Robbie. “You've seen her do Harley before but I think she takes Harley to the next level in this movie. I’ve worked with some incredibly hard-working actors in the past, but Margot has just floored me. It’s one thing for actors to say that they are producers, but it’s another thing to say that you are a producer and actually do the work. So to watch her juggle that very gracefully, and

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