Opening This Week: Birds of Prey, Horse Girl
BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN
With a full title like Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), Warner Bros.’ new DC Comics film packs a lot into even the trailers, let alone the film itself. Built around popular badass Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie, reprising her role from Suicide Squad), the action comedy promises to be irreverent and crazed. In fact, it marks the first film in the DC Extended Universe to be rated R.
The plot picks up after Joker and Harley retreat back to Gotham after battling Enchantress. Joker breaks up with her and the former-psychiatrist-turned-criminal goes out on the town. With a ragtag team of girl power, she goes on a crime spree seeking revenge and causing as much mayhem as possible.
Directed by Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey is intended to serve as a reinvention of the comic book character, according to its writer, Christina Hodson. Filmed across Los Angeles, the film does in fact add new twists to Harley Quinn’s lore, but never loses her unpredictable spirit. And, so far, her sadistic charms are working.
The film received its world premiere in Mexico City, followed by special screenings in London and Cannes, where critics have been positive. Most call attention to the film’s fresh perspective, compelling characters, and Robbie’s fun performance. It’s colorful and chaotic, in the best way.
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Netflix is giving its 2020 release calendar a bit on consistency, releasing titles on a regular basis, instead of just dumping them on the streaming platform without fanfare. Horse Girl may not be as highly-profiled as last week’s Taylor Swift doc, but the drama starring Alison Brie deserves just as much attention.
Brie leads a cast that also includes Debby Ryan, John Reynolds, Molly Shannon, and Paul Reiser, In a story about a socially awkward girl taken over by her lucid dreams.
Like the Swift documentary, Horse Girl had its premiere at the recent Sundance Film Festival where critics were mixed-to-positive in their reviews. Brie’s performance earns much of the praise, with critics saying it’s both full-fledged and sincere. The ones who weren’t as keen on the film’s overall delivery remark that it never elevates above being just decent.
Either way, it’s exciting to see studios like Netflix put its energy behind original works. The Duplass brothers wrote the script, which explains its off-kilter sense of humor and the perhaps misguided-on-purpose handling of the main character’s psyche. Looking for a good Saturday afternoon flick? This is it.
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