Margot Robbie walks behind the scenes of what appears to be psychedelic and dilapidated amusement park. Dressed and made up as the Harley Quinn, the actress carries a hammer on her right shoulder and hangs her rollerblades on her left. “Come on,” she shouts excitedly.
Soon the group formed by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Huntress), Rosie Perez (police officer Renee Montoya) and Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Black Canary) gathers next to a hatch that leads to a colorful tunnel. Director Cathy Yan (“Dead Pigs”) shouts “action!” and the four take over the scene’s choreography.
“Here, help me,” shouts Robbie’s Quinn. They open the hatch as several men in black begin to descend on ropes, firing their weapons. Huntress holds a grenade and says to the Joker’s ex-girlfriend: “You first”. While the Harley Quinn slides safely, the masked anti-heroine throws the grenade. The henchmen are thrown everywhere. And … “Cut!”.
“You came on a great day”, a smiling Margot Robbie approaches –now assuming the role of spokesperson and producer of “Birds of Prey”, a film based on the DC comics. “We have pyrotechnics, special effects working, stuntmen in action and, of course, the whole gang together. This is the moment that takes us to an insane action sequence.”
The idea for the movie came up in 2015, during the filming of “Suicide Squad”, in which the Harley Quinn steals the scene as the psychopathic girlfriend of the villainous Joker (Jared Leto). Robbie couldn’t understand how comic books didn’t represent women’s tendency to get together. “I spend my life close to my friends, but I rarely see it on the screens. So, I presented the project to Warner: an R-Rated all-girl gang movie.”
With the subtitle “And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn”, the production is a kind of self-contained sequence of “Suicide Squad”, but the producers involved do not want to have much relationship with the David Ayer movie, which earned more than $ 700 million (about R$ 2.9 billion), but was critically destroyed. “Our film is not a sequel. They are not connected,” producer Sue Kroll tells me.
When I ask if we should pretend that “Suicide Squad” never existed, Kroll contradicts herself: “Well, you don’t have to do that, because you met Harley Quinn, who is the most popular character to come out from that movie. It’s just … a completely original story. ”
The separation between Harley and the Joker is explosively displayed in the first minutes of the amusing “Birds of Prey”. Without the protection of her old boyfriend and trying to find herself again, Harlequin becomes the target of Gotham’s criminals, especially the Black Mask (Ewan McGregor), who works alongside serial killer Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina).
Quinn needs to capture teenage thief Cassandra (Ella Jay Basco), who takes possession of a diamond and ends up crossing the path of the other anti-heroines in the film. “It is an intimate journey for Harley. Is she really crazy? How does she react to a breakup? How do you decorate the apartment?” Robbie questions.
Although the group do not agree on everything, they realize that they need each other to survive in a violent city. “We have a very eclectic group. They all incorporate their femininity in a different way”, the Australian actress explains. “The important thing is to reflect the most diverse aspects of female power on the screen.”
At the same time, the protagonist and producer know that she needs to please fans of the comics books –especially after the success of “Joker”, which also has nothing to do with this project.
Therefore, Robbie told screenwriter Christina Hodson (“Bumblebee”) all about the comics that marked her. “Although it is not clear to the general public, more hardcore fans of Harlequin will notice some images and references”, says the actress, who quotes “The Professional” and “The Fifth Element” as cinematic influences.
The $ 100 million (R$ 424 million) production could be a new milestone for DC in theaters: violent, but fun. “We wanted people to see life from a Harley Quinn point of view. It is a fantastic and bright world ”, tells the actress just before returning to the set. “Of course she is an unreliable narrator.”
