The Creation of a Character

The growth of Cast and Crew in a ‘Little Ole Film’

Here it is the end of March, and I have to look back and ask myself, “Where has the time gone?” and, “when did I get the crazy idea to make a movie?” Seems like ‘Little Ole Gotham’ has been a large part of my life for a while now, and I have had so much fun I sometimes forget what year or day of the week it actually is right now.

I took a second to absorb the wonderful crew of people I have found over the last few months. Some of these people I have known most of the time I have lived in Ohio, and others I picked up along the way. Either way I am not sure how they all became my family the last few months.

Every project we attempt in our life has some sort of challenge buried in it that will allow us to prove something to the world, or even just our own state of being. For myself, in the making of ‘Little Ole Gotham’ it has been the birth of characters. I’ve looked through the footage and I find this bouquet of people and places that has come to life. For the most part it’s a bunch of crowded weeds, but on film we seem to have all created a field of wild flowers, and every time we put up a camera you can smell the aroma of a million types of sweetness, and the cool warm breeze on your cheeks.

Lets take a look at the world the people of Pokket Productions have managed to bring to life…

The original point of the film Little Ole Gotham was to explore the kind of person a woman like Harleen Quinzel would have to be in order to be great enough to catch the eye of a heartless criminal like ‘The Joker’. It was a simple script to begin with, with the idea of expansion in between the lines. Gradually people came out of the wood work, and friends around me started to smell ‘Film making’ on my breath and everyone jumped at the chance to create movie magic. We even got to the point where our insults were in character both on and off the screen. Nothing beats saying “get out of my office jerk” to Bruce Wayne, under your breathe, at the end of a shot, and later seeing that it was caught on camera.

Arkham Asylum, was originally meant to be a small part of the story. However, the point of the film was to prove Harleen really was always Harley in disguise, and through that we had to see the world she came from. In order to paint his picture there are questions that needed realistic answers.

“Who were her colleagues?”
“What did she do with friends?”
“Why do so many Dr.s at Arkham Asylum become criminals?”
“Why does Gotham city send psychopaths to the mental hospital when everyone else in the world locks them up in a secure prison?”

and the most important one… “Was Harleen a psychopath or psychotic, and did she ‘snap’?”

My goal, of course, was to answer these questions in the way you would least expect.

What better way to present Arkham Asylum to an audience, but follow a Dr. to work, on a day like any other for him, when the day is actually when Harleen Quinzel realizes who she has always been. Purhaps the audience wont know what to expect?

Enter Dr. Paul Dini. What better Dr. to follow, than the one named after the creator of our lovely Harley Quinn? Who is the Dr.? and why do we even care? The purpose for series of event that transpires on this day will show us that it takes a special person to listen to the stories of Psychopaths every day. Thus we have the birth of the Blue coats, and the birth of the Green Coats… and trust me they’d never get caught hanging out together after work hours.

Dr. Dini walks up to an ancient building on Gotham’s outskirts that has been dubbed “The Elizabeth Arkham Hospital for Mental Recovery”. What we see is that Every day he must go through the ‘mental hospital’ in order to get to his office located in a wing previously known as the ‘Criminal Recovery Center’. Then again everyone in Gotham calls it ‘Arkham Asylum’, a name Harleen decides to make permanent for the criminal wing of the hospital.

Dr. Dini presents us with a personality that leads us to believe that wearing a green coat means you might be a psychopath anyway. As he walks up the steps he steals a patients ‘only friend’ without blinking and without any care of who the patient belongs to. When you work with Psychopaths, patients are more like experiments anyway.

Dr. Dini encounters a locked door to the Asylum in which his first words on film are “freaking psychopaths,” thus providing background for his apathetic personality. When Dr Dini asks for help the only person willing is the loving and careing Dr. Adrian Kensington who seems to have lost everything but his mind. Dr. Dini’s show no respect for him, and later we see that Adrian goes out of his way to enter the Asylum from a different door all together to avoid the green coats which he tells us on camera “they’re so mean”. The funny part in this scene is really in the idea that at a hospital where all the patients escape, the Dr.s cant even get in, and you cant help but wonder, “did Dini ever give Adrian his keys back?”

As Dini enters the hospital to pick up his daily work status sheets, we are given even more of an idea that the Green coats and the Blue coats hate working in the same place. It seems to be an insult that to enter the Asylum you’ve got to get past all the ‘nuts’ in Blue coats, when actually the statement would be true since the actual mentally insane individuals are in the mental hospital, which you must pass through to get to the Psycho paths, which by definition aren’t actually crazy at all. The name of these few shots is entitled “Metro Psychiatry” which simply tells us that Arkham is a world in itself outside of Gotham.

Next we meet Dr. Miller and a patient that is no stranger to these walls, Dr. Jonathan Crane, who clothed in a straight jacket is one of a kind, being the only patient we ever see in a Straight jacket.

Dr. Miller, also a Green coat, shows very little care or emotion as he waits for Dr. Dini. Dr. Miller is low level Dr. and seems to always be unsurprised and has no idea whats coming next. Dr. Dini seems to feed off of Miller’s ‘newbee’ personality by picking on him. Theres no need to worry though, Miller will be Arkhams example of why Green Coats have to be so harsh if they want to stay Employees. After ‘begging’ Dini for help with Crane, who is screaming for Harleen, Dini comes in contact with a criminal patient for the first time on screen and has full control, and knows what the problem is without asking any questions. It is good to remember, however that Crane is indeed a Psychopath, but is also crazy due to The Batman giving him a taste of his own ‘medicine’.

During these short intro scenes, we see Harleen open a gift from The Joker, and confront him about his little games he plays with her. Harleen also comes off cold as she keeps her patient from killing another Dr. just in time. When ‘Patient J’ slams Harleen against a wall and she doesn’t flinch you see the first moment of a beautiful relationship that will always involve violence, something only people with feelings see a problem. However, the Green coat Patient J almost terminated did not react the same way despite her being in Green. As Harleen tries to leave Patient J’s cell he attempts flirting with her only to get eye rolls. But you have to stop and wonder if her bad jokes she tells him back are actually her own kind of flirting. As she leaves her Patient reminds her that Shes living a life that’s pretend as he takes her glasses, glasses which we all know are just for show, then again that’s the thing about Psychopaths, they know how to make other people feel center ways around them, and Harleen learned early in life that wearing glasses made her more than just some dumb ole blonde. Of course, after coming to scold him she realizes the boredom shes leaving him to if she closes the cell door, and gives him a present, a deck of cards that she says are important to her.

Dini walks to Harleens Office moments after she has signed her name on a very very important letter, but you do not really know why. Dini has the intention to get help with her patient and for the first time we see Harleen’s control over another person as Dini realizes he is now Cranes Dr. . Harleen insures him he can handle Crane, but for a moment you think he must regret harassing Crane now that hes his patient. Harleen’s encouraging words include “I can only imagine if the nuts ran the nut house”. The funny thing is the parallel scene really shows us that they indeed already do.

In this parallel scene Dr. Kensington follows a criminal patient into the halls of the asylum and onto a stairwell that leads to the ‘CRC’, the holding cells for the criminal patients. As he tries to apprehend the patient a sign on the wall shows warnings for 3 patients: Zsasz, Crane, and patient J. and notice that ‘Blue coats are not allowed’. But if you missed the detail, don’t worry because two Green coats finally come running and free Dr. Kensington from certain death and instead of saying ‘thanks’ they offer to report him. You might get the since its blackmail. Thankfully, life is fair, as the loving Dr. Adrian Kensington gets to live another day.

The two Green coats we meet here are Dr. Tal Saran, and Dr. Ashley Lane. Dr. Tal Saran’s name is a play off of ‘Mal Renolds’ in the series firefly, but I will let you get the joke, just remember she’s a green coat, not a brown coat, buts its pretty much the same amount of spunk. Dr. Saran seems to always hold some sort of odd device when she pops up on screen, but her attitude lets us know shes in control as she leads Dr. Lane with her to lock up the wandering patient.

Dr. Lane, who we later see has a tender side, complains that these hard-edged patients are crybabies, and as hes screaming from behind the door Dr. Saran says “eh, want to go get some coffee?” Later in the movie we find out that Dr. Lane is perhaps Harleen’s only friend in the world, and the only person that told her to stay away from Patient J. When the cops investigate Harleen’s disappearance Dr. Lane seems more worried than mean, but we never really see Ashley’s mean side except for when she remembers back to when she warned Harleen, or when a Blue coat is involved. Either way , with both Ashley and Tal we see some respect in both these women’s eyes when talking about the way Harleen handles patients. Dr. Lane may be a little more caring, but at least Tal finds her methods amusing.

Enter Dr. Dini once again as he realizes his new patient, and the newbee Dr. are gone.
He finds Dr. Miller coming up form the “Fun Rooms” in the basement and once again finds a locked door without a key. After taking Miller’s keys, (sound familiar) Miller asks if Dini has seen his patient. We see that somehow admist all their tough side these Green coats cant seem to keep track of their patients. Dr. Dini admits he heard Adrian screaming earlier and that he thought nothing of it, and for Miller to check. Funny part is that Miller actually walks by during the scene and witnesses the arm flailing as well. Guess hes been looking for this patient for a while… hmm who could it be? Earlier while the criminal patient was wandering, if you listen closely you can hear Dr. Lane and Dr. Saran locking up Millers patient in the back ground. Seems no one can keep track of anyone. Dr. Miller asks the two Women if they saw his patient, but they look at him and ignore him. I guess being the newbee at Arkham must be a pretty bad deal.

After Dini has left Harleens office she starts to realize who she is deep down inside and we get a small glimpse of a story that has most likely happened months ago. Harleen cant seem to get her prized patient off her mind and how hes the only person in her life that makes it worth living. Here we see a flash back of events that Harleen seems to be torn about. Yet its obvious that the event between her and Patient J defined her position at Arkham with loads of respect from other Dr.’s. Earlier in the day Patient J lends us to believe that hes been pushing around all the Dr.’s in order to test which ones are exactly like him, and you start to see that her memory is such an event.

What Patient J found was that instead of Harleen staying out of his head she turned right around and stood up to him. Ignoring the feelings that most are overcome by when you’ve had a patient stab you in the back, we see Harleen is indeed a Psychopath, not controlled by her emotions. However, her reactions to remembering the event will make you think she is actually CRAZY. As she grabs a videotape and a sledge hammer to destroy it, we start to see the silly yet violent Harley that’s always been buried inside her and the memories of the event unfold. If you pay attention to the events she remembering, the tape is not proof of her giving Patient J a shot, its actually proof of her using her psychiatric ‘mind reading’ skills against the one person she loves more than anyone else, and the thought that she hurt her feelings is something she cant live with. Of course, you have to wonder what happened to the patient that witnessed her destroying the tape.

Harleen looks up at the Jokers cell window to find him looking down at her standing in front of a patient, a pile of video tape pieces, and holding a sledge hammer all while smiling. Harleen runs into Patient J’s room where he sits calmly while she demands its time for a session. He motions for her to sit down as he plays with the deck of cards she gave him. She removes her jacket and shoes which is very symbolic. Dr.s wear jackets, and patients aren’t allowed to wear shoes. When she sits down next to him they are both wearing brightly colored socks and Patient J procedes to tell her about the moment he realized that what he thought was his emotions was totally different, and that people like them can sort of love and hate, just in a different way form everyone else. For a moment you feel sorry for the two of them seeing how lonely they must be until he describes the feeling of loneliness to being bored. And he offers her the deck of cards for them to play a game together, much like the games they will eventually play on the streets of Gotham. Patient J takes one card you haven’t seen yet and places it in jumpsuit where it is ‘close to his heart’ but you wont find out its significance till the end of the movie.

As time a city skyline shot reminds us that Arkham is still part of Gotham City, our day becomes night and our lost Dr. Miller finds his patient locked upstairs in a closet. When he cant find his keys he uses a screw driver to open the closet after his patient beggs him to let him out. As soon as he opens the door and his patient looks up, you ask yourself, why would they give that patient to Dr. Miller? Theres obviously a reason why Green coats are the way they are. And that is fully explain in the first chapter, and first 15 min of the Film ‘Little Ole Gotham’.

3 more months pass and we see a snow covered Arkham where Bruce Wayne enters un announced into Harleens Office. Its obvious at this point the two of them are in bizarre points in their life. Harleen seems to be a little off her rocker and Wayne seems to be playing the Billionare Playboy for all its worth as a Blue coat drools over him. Harleen still holds on to the idea that She could maybe be normal if she found a guy like Bruce Wayne. However, after lvingly joking about “Mr J.” Bruce Wayne realizes hes just a floor below all the people hes put away as Gotham’s Dark Knight, a role he hasn’t held in over a year. When Harleen asks him why hes given so much to the ‘CRC’ hes askes her to tell him, since shes the expert on thoughts. Just like with her Mr. J, she gets dangerously close to the truth and Wayne realizes he can’t let a woman like Harleen have acess to both his mind, and the Joker’s. While he leaves he notices a stain on her floor and with her looking away he leaves on a few caring statements which in turn insult her, since, at this point, she knows she’s one of them.

Bruce asks a Dr. in the hall about the stain and Mrs. Tal Saran tells him more details than hed like. Bruce sums up his visit with a sense that he cant let her get any closer, but he knows she might be what the city needs, and after Dr. Saran exits (with a strange tool in her hand), Bruce jokingly says to himself a statement which lets us know he’s still very proud of being Batman, and possibly on the line of being a Psychopath himself.

A week later in time Dr. Lane lets Harleen know that Bruce Wayne cancelled their meeting/date, and we realize they are playfully close friends. Ashley teases her and even in a moment of friendliness she uses blackmail to get Harleen out of the office. You might say, once again, its Batman, now Bruce Wayne, that makes the villain. As they leave the office Harleen is reminded of her dark side, and now with Bruce Wayne out of her life the path shes on is obvious, but then again, its just “something I have to take care of later.”

The day Harleen leaves the Asylum is the end of chapter two entitled “Freedom is an Asylum”. The name refers to the Rules that people like Harley and the joker have to follow in society, and how they will never truly be free whether in Arkham or Gotham. Surprisingly the two people she says good bye to don’t include the love of her life, her purple and green ‘puddin’. Instead she visits Dr. Crane to get some information, but the scene is more important than you realize. Harleen gave up Dr. Crane as a patient because he is more like her than shed like to admit. Having worked with him (and maybe more) and see him become enslaved and poisoned by Batman, he was a reminded to her of what she wanted and what would happen to her in the end. These thoughts being before she ever met the Joker.

She tells crane to be nice to ‘Mr. J’ and gives him the antidote to his own poison. Knowing shes freed him from Batman’s curse she has tied all the loose ends and she walks out past someone you could never forget. The loving and kind Adrian Kensington gives Harleen a fairwell. Asking her if she has any “crazy plans” for the weekend, you see hes now talking to green coats, and even using humor. Harleen hands Adrian the one thing he really wants, a green coat.

She walks out of Arkham having left a few things behind. Crane’s straightjacket has been undone, his cell open, and theres a note on Dr. Dini’s car which reads “I left a message for you with Dr. Crane – H.Q.” Just when you become confused at how shes leaving without saying good bye to Jack, you see a little handmade doll buckled into the seat next to her as she remembers back to the day she found her best friend. It was the first day she took the mallet to her pain, and came to the Joker on the same level with an action as simple as a card game. It was the day they spent their session sitting on the floor in front of her couch on top of the blood stained carpet, the stain that proved to Harley Quinn that the Joker had a heart.

In the very first draft of the story entitled ‘Little Ole Gotham’ the only 3 scenes Ive described above that existed were the moment that Dr. Dini enters Harleen’s office (as Jeff the Male Nurse), the part where Dr. Lane talks with Harleen (as Emilee the Admin), and when Mr. Wayne drops off his final donation in exchange for dinner plans (without ever talking to a ‘Nurse’ or sitting on Harleens couch for her to get in his head).

The original version of the story never had an Adrian, Dr. Miller, or Dr. Dini, or Dr. Saran. Even more importantly, The joker never made an appearance and never ‘spilled his guts’ in Harleen’s office. The thing I found was that to truly prove that Harleen was a cover for Harley you had to see her world, and see her gradually loose her ‘cover’. I thought including the Joker would take away form developing Harleen, but then I also realized that in my Adaptation of the character, if Harley ever went crazy it wasn’t from meeting the joker, it was from trying to pretend to be ‘Harleen’.

So back to the questions…

“Who were her colleagues?” Harleen worked with a bunch of characters. Some were Blue Coats, some were Green coats. And oddly enough, Harleen was the only one that never had anything against the Blue coats. No two doctors seemed to be exactly alike, but all of them did the same job as Harleen, and as harsh, rude, or disrespectful as they all seemed, remind yourself that none of them ever killed anyone, and certainly not a patient.

“What did she do with friends?” The only two friends at Arkham Harleen ever had were Dr. Lane, and Mr. J, but you could guess that at some point Bruce was included. With Dr. Lane she was silly and possibly wild, and that’s perhaps why the two were never fully close, because like Harleen’s college friends, Dr. Lane brought the silly ‘Harley’ in Harleen. We can guess that Dr. Lane and Harleen talked about things enough for Harleen to give her reason to be worried when Harleen wanted to get close to Patient J. Dr. Lane’s heart is broken when she realizes later that Mr. J may have been the death of her. When Dr. Lane sees a picture she connects the dots and realize that Harleen is Harley and we see the anguish in her eyes.

Mr.J was always the only true friend Harleen had in her life at Arkham, and the only person she ever felt bad for hurting. One has to ask themselves though, why did she bring up Mr. J’s dead wife? Was it too push his buttons? Or was it to see if he could ever love her? Harleen would most likely tell us that it was because he made her care about someone. After leaving him for dead, she saw him lay there on her carpet telling one last joke, and she realized the only person she NEEDED in the world was gone.

I think Harleen would tell us that she got a split second glimpse of living without having someone to laugh with. Harleen couldn’t stand the idea of having no one to be herself around. When all the other Dr.s gave up, Harleen jumped in, bleeding to death herself, and brought him back into her world while yelling at him “you get to suffer like the rest of us!” what she was implying in ‘us’ wasn’t the world, or people in Gotham, it was all the patients in her Asylum that search through dark and violent activities for a reaction in themselves that will find some bit of soul or heart left in them. When she thought she lost him, Harleen found her moment, her only way to find a cure for her own Psychopathy, and eventually His.

Then again, as soon as he realized she shot him, he tried to kill her again. And right before losing consciousness, she managed to stab him in the neck with a syringe after threatening shed kill him again. Maybe that’s not friendship for most, but for psychopaths like Mr. J and his H.Q., love is something you can just ‘throw around’.

“Why do so many Dr.s at Arkham Asylum become criminals?” I think the answer here is clear, it takes a special type of person to want to spend their days around the kind of stories that Psychopathic murders tell.

“Why does Gotham city send psychopaths to the mental hospital when everyone else in the world locks them up in a secure prison?” This is the biggest mystery about Arkham Asylum. How do I answer this? At the close of my film is a moment in which Harley is confronted by Detective Jeff Groff. During this confrontation this question is answered by implying that Harley has been spending years teaching psychopaths how to act crazy in order to get sent to Arkham instead of sent to jail. Multiple times Harleen’s collegues mention how she is able to get into the criminals heads, and perhaps this lays the groundwork for the hope that Psychopaths can be fixed, something Harlenn Quinzel had devoted her life to proving, for her own Psychopathic need of redemption and saving.

IaBou Windimere