Birds of Prey has officially hit theaters and audiences appear to be loving the Suicide Squad spinoff. Having just seen the movie myself, I can attest to it being a fun, self-referential comic book film in the vein of something like Deadpool. And Margot Robbie was born to play this character. In fact, she might have already locked up the award for all time best female comic book movie performance.
And that’s what Birds of Prey is; a girl-power celebration. The director is a woman, the writer is a woman and besides the villains, the cast is almost entirely female. And one scene in particular is being praised by fans as a perfect representation of the relationships women have with each other.
Late in the movie, the entire team is fighting Black Mask’s hired goons at an abandoned amusement park. Black Canary is punching and kicking (there’s a lot of kicking in this film. Jean-Claude Van Damme would be proud) her way through some bad guys when Harley Quinn notices that her hair is in need of some maintenance mid-fight. Quinn rolls over (literally) and hands her a hair tie. Canary then precedes, in one motion, to tie up her hair while fighting off multiple men.
It’s a small moment, but an authentic one that showcases female friendship. And suffice it to say, the fans are loving it.
BIRDS OF PREY WAS SO GOOD
The hair tie mY GOD!!! So many small relatable moments and details that could only come from having women involved at all levels, such incredible stunt work, the entire cast was on their A-game and BRUCE..!!!! The best yeen 🤩💖
— Jen Bartel (@heyjenbartel) February 8, 2020
https://twitter.com/teylor_smirl/status/1225632570995552256
Saw #BirdsOfPrey & hands down my favorite scene is when Harley Quinn hands Black Canary a hair tie during a fight so she can pull her locks back. The ladies all know how important it is to have that one friend who has your hair’s back. pic.twitter.com/DrLnbW1xNw
— Elizabeth Weitz 💛 (@ebethhasissues) February 9, 2020
Favourite scene in birds of prey was when Harley gave Canary a hair tie mid fight
— chazz (@lifeisahyuckway) February 9, 2020
I enjoyed #BirdsOfPrey Wasn’t the best movie I’ve ever seen and it probs won’t be nominated for anything but I laughed and the stunts/fights scenes were great. Also loved the little lady touches, the tampon and hair tie? Cmon. So good.
— gianna (@giannaporcaro) February 9, 2020
Loved #BirdsOfPrey, finally a female character asking for a hair tie in the middle of a fight scene! pic.twitter.com/KdoDMO0jmt
— Cᴀʀᴍᴇɴ Cᴀʀɴᴇʀᴏ (@CarmenCarnero) February 9, 2020
Best line of Birds of Prey:
“Hair tie?”— bal ✨ (@alleebabble) February 9, 2020
I saw #birdsofprey and it was excellent! It was a great ride from start to finish. Favorite scene: During a fight sequence Black Canary borrows a hair tie from Harley Quinn and then returns to kicking ass. Outstanding!
— Keith (@keithnab) February 9, 2020
ok but the moment in birds of prey when they’re mid fight scene and harley offers black canary a hair tie… the POWER of that one small moment. something only women caught and appreciated, i guarantee. #BirdsOfPrey
— jenna | fan acct (@milfstrash) February 9, 2020
Jurnee Smollett-Bell, who plays Canary, spoke about this particular moment to Digital Spy and how it was necessary to add some realism to an otherwise over-the-top fight scene.
“It’s fun ’cause it’s kind of silly that Black Canary’s like, you know, she’s fighting and – it’s also a commentary on all of them [and] trying to keep the film grounded and more scrappy,” Smollett-Bell explained. “I do think that comes from all of us just having conversations of like, ‘Yeah, you know [when] you go to the gym, you’re going to tie your hair back’. So it’s literally just [a matter of], ‘Well, what’s practical?'”
Robbie, who also acts as a producer on the film, thought it was necessary to showcase a group of women kicking ass because women also like action movies and she felt there wasn’t enough of a female perspective in the genre.
“I pitched the idea of an R-rated girl gang film including Harley, because I was like, ‘Harley needs friends.’ Harley loves interacting with people, so don’t ever make her do a standalone film,” Robbie said to Collider in 2018. “She’s got to be with other people, it should be a girl gang. I wasn’t seeing enough girl gangs on screen, especially in the action space. So that was always a big part of it.”
She also mentioned director Cathy Yan’s involvement and how it’s important to give young filmmakers, particularly female filmmakers, an opportunity to see what they can do if given the chance.
“And then, of course, having a female director to tell that story. And giving a female director the chance to do big budget stuff,” Robbie added. “They always get ‘Here’s the tiny little film’… I was like, ‘I love action. I love action films. I’m a girl. What, are we meant to only like a specific thing’? So it was a hugely important to find a female director for this, if possible. But at the end of the day — male, female — the best director gets the job and Cathy was the best director.”
You would never know this was Yan’s first big-budget movie. She handles every action sequence with flair and energy and the fight scenes in particular are shot with wide angles and feature great choreography. She certainly has a bright future in the industry and we’re very pleased with what she delivered in Birds of Prey.