Research: Mise En Scene - Body Language & Facial Expressions - Mrs. Quinlan

Body Language & Facial Expression

Body language and facial expressions are different presentations of a character via physical appearance. Body language focuses on a character's actions, movements and the way they present themselves. The way characters hold themselves or act. This includes posture and walking. Facial expressions are the characters expressions as they are portrayed to the audience. Body language and facial expressions are important conventions in thriller films as they can present the character's personality and give us accurate representations of how they are feeling during a particular scene.

Stereotypical Victim and Protagonist

In this scene from Scream (1996), we see a stereotypical victim, her facial expression makes it evident that she is a victim as she is clearly distressed. Her body language shows that she is slightly slouched over as opposed to a conventional upright posture, she is unconfident and upset. The victim is also clutching onto the phone very loosely showing her weakness due to the extent of her misery. This is stereotypical for a victim as they usually have been stripped away of their freedom and This makes the audience feel anxious and upset.

This still from John Wick (2014) shows the titular character, the protagonist. He is a stereotypical protagonist due to his body language and facial expression. He has a very stern look which suggests he has a goal and he seeks to achieve it, he is neither upset or happy, this can also mean he is confident in what he is doing. Further evidence for his confidence is shown with his body language, he is walking with a good upright posture and doesn't appear to be uncomfortable despite what situation he appears to be in. This allows the audience to rely on him to do good and to feel confident in him.

Stereotypical Antagonists

This still from The Purge clearly depicts a stereotypical antagonist. His body language is very confident to show that he knows he is doing wrong and is comfortable with it. His facial expression is a very sinister smile, this can suggest madness or that he is about to do something that will make the audience uncomfortable. An audience would be afraid of this character due to his body language and facial expression due to how happy and confident he looks in such a dark setting, he is standing straight and he is smiling, therefore he does not see anything wrong with the place he is in even though it looks like a very small room made of stone. His facial expression makes the audience feel fear as well as his body language as he may be over confident. He is a stereotypical antagonist as he is a white male wearing a suit and a clean hairstyle, with a very pale face. This is accompanied with his body language and facial expression, which is stereotypical as antagonists usually are confident as they have a certain goal to achieve, usually by any means. 

This is another example of a stereotypical antagonist from The Dark Knight (2008), this character has quite a confident posture and a mischievous smile. Both his body language and facial expression can make the audience feel nervous. He is clearly sitting in a jail cell but seems to happy about it, this can be very unnerving as a jail connotates that he has done something bad to be in there. This antagonist is also a stereotypical one as he is confident and seems happy which is shown in his facial expression and body language despite the fact he is sitting in a jail cell. The makeup on his face could also represent psychotic behavior, although if he was slouched down and looked upset this wouldn't represent an antagonist but rather a completely different character.

Scene Analysis

From this still in Se7en (1995), we can see a variety of examples of body language and facial expressions. The antagonist in the orange jumpsuit appears to have a bland facial expression, almost as if he doesn't care about what is happening to him although we can see he is in handcuffs and is being forcibly moved. His body language also supports this as he is facing down and is slouching slightly, he is quite uninterested and this makes the audience feel uncomfortable as the antagonist seems unpredictable due to his carelessness. This is stereotypical for an antagonist as they do not care for their actions and usually do not care about anything but their own goals, his body language and facial expression supports this. We can also observe the two men behind him, both have very strong body language presentations although the man on the left has quite a stern look on his face, this can suggest his annoyance with the antagonist, or possibly anger towards him. This is stereotypical for a protagonist as they are usually very confident and are motivated to stop evil or anything bad. Therefore confidence and strong character is needed, this is evident through their body language and facial expression.

Conclusion 

In my thriller opening, my research has helped me conclude to use quite different body language presentations and facial expressions. For my antagonists I will direct them to have sinister smiles and uncomfortable smiles in abnormal situations, they will be very confident to put fear into the audience and they will be presented as very strong characters that know what they are doing, this makes them scarier and build suspense within the audience. For my protagonists they will also be very strong characters, although they will have certain goals to achieve and therefore will be quite serious throughout, with strong body language and straight facial expressions. My victim on the other hand will need to frighten the audience and make them sympathise for them, my victim will have very distressed facial expressions and weak body language to connote abuse or mistreating of themselves.