'Birds of Prey': Margot Robbie says her film is not 'grounded' like Todd Phillips' 'Joker', 'it's heightened'
Wild. Erratic. Peculiar. These are the adjectives when one usually thinks of DC's Harley Quinn, the 'lover' of Joker. The character was essayed by Margot Robbie in 'Suicide Squad', and now she will do it again in the upcoming 'Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn'.
In an interview with Variety, Robbie said that she didn't know why the 'unstable and brilliant' character would want to stay in a relationship with Joker (played by Jared Leto in 'Suicide Squad'), who wants to kill her most of the time. So she did some research, where she listened to TED Talks by women with schizophrenia, who were also professionals. She immersed herself in the world of DC and read the comics too.
"Harley has this unpredictable nature that means she could react in any way to any situation, which as an actor is just a gift," said Robbie.
'Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn' implies break-up with the Joker. Robbie confirmed that Leto's portrayal of the murder-clown does not appear, not even as a cameo. Robbie had a different version of 'Birds of Prey', as she just wanted to see Harley hanging out with her girlfriends and having a good time.
In the same interview to Variety, British screenwriter Christina Hodson said, "She really wanted to see Harley with girlfriends, Harley in a girl gang. Harley is such a naturally sociable character. And I think there was just a general longing to see girls together on screen — women being friends."
On the connection with the controversial film 'Joker' starring Joaquin Phoenix, Robbie said that he did a "phenomenal job", but her movie is nothing like that. 'Birds of Prey', she says, isn’t at all like the Todd Phillips film: “I feel like the ‘Joker’ film was much more grounded. Ours is different. It’s heightened."
'Birds Of Prey' will release on February 7.