There is little doubt that Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) had several shocking scenes. However, there was one particular sequence featuring Roman Sionis aka Black Mask that proved to be extremely uncomfortable for viewers. Interestingly, this was one moment that director Cathy Yan fought to keep in the theatrical cut.
In Birds of Prey, Roman gets irritated when he hears a woman laughing in his bar. Believing that the woman was laughing at him, he forces her to stand on a table and strip in front of everyone including Black Canary. It's easily one of the most unnerving scenes in the film but Yan told The Hollywood Reporter that this needed to be in the final cut.
"I'll be honest: We had to fight to keep that scene because it was uncomfortable. It was risky, and we had to fight to keep it at all. There are cuts of the movie without it. I'm really glad that we kept it because I think it's important," Yan said. She continued by explaining it had to do with Roman and Canary.
"I think that a lot of people have been very impacted by that scene. I think it's a huge turning point for Roman; it's a huge turning point for Canary, and the way that we shot it was hopefully not about the sexual violence upon the woman. It was more about Roman, what he's capable of and Canary seeing him for who he really is for the first time. Now, she can fully cut herself off from him, and I thought it was a really important scene. So, we fought for it," Yan concluded.
It's an interesting way to push the story forward and it was undoubtedly risky. Nevertheless, it paid off in the end and we totally stand by Canary for going up against Roman in the way she did in the film.
What did you think of the uncomfortable scene in Birds of Prey? Sound off in the comments below.
Related: Harley Quinn Showrunner on Why [SPOILER] was Killed in Season 2 Premiere
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
DC