Film Language: Mise-en-scene

The Dark Knight: Movie Still

Instantly from the mise-en-scene we can tell that the character shown is the antagonist. This is shown in the way that the character has a smile on his face whilst in a cell with armed guards outside the cell. The calm yet humorous facial expression suggests that the antagonist is enjoying being put in a cell and that there is a reason why he is in a cell which the other characters seem to not know.
The dark colour scheme compared to the antagonist bright colours suggest that he is an anomaly in the scene or that he doesn't fit in. The direct eye contact with the camera from the antagonist suggests that he is plotting something or saying to the audience "Watch what happens next", this is reinforced by how he looks like he is smiling and cheerful with the situation he is in. On the other hand, the direct line of appeal with the fact that his mouth has been cut to make him look like he is smiling could be used to make the audience feel sympathy for him. The fact that the antagonist make up suggests that he is a clown challenges the myth of clowns being entertainers and cheerful.In addition the fact that the antagonist has his hands together underneath the middle cell bar suggests that the antagonist has been in a situation like this before and that it doesn't make him feel fear of the sort.