Mis-en-Scene The Dark Knight-Costume Design

Costume Design by: Lindy Hemming

 

This is the scene where the Joker is with his gangsters friends, they were discussing their current situation and after some conversation the Joker says “how about a magic trick? I am going to make this pencil disappear.”  He then stuck the pencil in the table and as one of the gangster thugs approached the table he slammed the gangsters head down on the pencil, through the gangster’s eye, which killed him instantly. It was a dark and disturbing scene from the movie. In this dark scene, you have the Joker in his trademark clown face and purple suit which adds to the psychopathic chaotic character and makes him appear to be a crazy man that has no empathy towards others including the gangsters in his group.

 

The Dark Knight Costume designer’s intent was to make the Joker seem dirty, evil and Villainous. The joker was hell bent on taking over Gotham City and sending it into anarchy. The Joker’s only desire is to cause chaos and could care less about the image he shows to everyone around him. The costume design made the Joker appear filthy and grungy to give us the impression that he is corrupt and doesn’t care about himself or others. The clown face and dark purple suit and purple gloves gives the Joker (played by Heath Ledger) a darker image that that fits with the darker theme of the movie. This fits the scene when the pencil vanishes; a ruthless man showing he only cares about one thing. It is a very simple designed costume but does stand out against the other gangsters in the movie. The other members in the scene were dressed as regular citizens of Gotham and did not distract from the ruthless Joker.

Other costume design work by Lindy Hemming:

The two Dark Knight movies Casino Royale, Die Another Day, The World Is Not Enough, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.