The body is an instrument that humans use for communication with each other. Over the past few decades, different studies have suggested that between 70 and 93% of all communication is non-verbal, which means the messages are not expressed through words. Instead, people show their emotions, convey their points, and influence others through intonation, gestures, facial expressions, posture, and eye contact or lack thereof. Body language is largely uncontrollable, and more often than not, exposes deception in a person’s speech. In this case, verbal and non-verbal communication become discordant, which others may note. This research paper examines the case of an interaction between Mark and the police officer in the 1994 movie The Client and analyzes the former’s body language that makes the latter suspicious.
The Client opens with two brothers – eleven-year-old Mark Sway and his younger brother Ricky – smoking in the forest next to where they live. By chance, they run into a mob lawyer W. Jerome Clifford who is hiding from Barry “The Blade” Muldano, the nephew of powerful mob leader Johnny Sulari. After a short talk, the lawyer confesses to Mark and Ricky that he is contemplating suicide, after which he follows through with his intentions by shooting himself. Ricky becomes catatonic and regresses to an earlier stage by staying in bed and sucking on his thumb. Thus, Mark remains the only one in the sound state of mind, which is why the police decide to interrogate him.
Throughout the conversation with the police officer, Mark is trying to hide the fact that he interacted with the deceased lawyer and, moreover, received some useful confidential information from him. Existing research demonstrates that lying affects one’s body and manifests itself through identifiable body language patterns. Schade writes that while liars are in control of their speech and can put together a believable story, they have “non-verbal slips of tongue” (15). Lying often occurs in stressful situations, which is true for Mark’s interaction with the police officer. Because of the state of arousal, a person will either move too much or make fewer movements (Shade 16). In The Client, Mark is not catatonic like his little brother, but still, his body posture is stiff and rigid. He barely moves his upper body or hands.
It is a common belief that one can detect a liar by their eyes. Namely, it is believed that when people lie, they hide their eyes and avoid eye contact for the fear of being exposed. Grimes argues that a study after a study revealed that there is no universal “eye” behavioral clue when it comes to deception (47). It is a cultural concept common for low-context cultures, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, that consistent and confident eye contact is a sign of honest conversation (Segerstale and Molnar 106).
Low-context cultures appreciate straightforwardness and being direct with one’s conversation partner. When Mark is in the car with the police officer, he rarely looks him in the eye. One cannot safely conclude that this is an obvious sign of deception. However, in the United States, Mark’s behavior would most likely be classified as avoidant and, thus, suspicious.
Further research suggests that lying affects multiple body systems and manifests itself not only through body gesture but also voice intonation and gaze. What is interesting is that while there are patterns in the body language hinting at deceit, they are not universal (Wright et al. 520). That is to say that each person is unique in how their body reacts to stress and handles the cognitive load of both hiding the truth and appearing confident and honest (Wright et al. 520). In their research, Wright et al. inquired about people’s beliefs about discerning truth and lies in high stakes situations, such as hearing public appeals for help with missing or murdered relatives (521).
The cues to deception included some curious opposites. Participants reported that both fake emotions, putting on a performance, and fake crying and emotional distance, stiffness, and coldness could indicate not telling the truth. What these two kinds of behavior have in common is that both of them are unnatural. Mark does not act like his usual lively self, which is picked on by his mother and later by the police officer.
Situations leading to a high psychological arousal typically make people leak involuntary body language hints. Lying puts a high cognitive load on a person, and the difficulty of the task manifests itself through one’s body. In The Client, young Mark tries to hide information from the police officer, but the latter figures out that the boy is lying. Mark does not act like himself; his behavior is unnatural, which hints at deception. His body is stiff and lacks his usual body gestures. Mark barely moves and, when in the police car, he is not actively engaged in the conversation. The character actively avoids direct eye contact, which is not the most reliable sign of lying but is suspicious in American culture that prioritizes straightforwardness.
Works Cited
Grimes, Bill. “Looking for Lying in All the Wrong Places.” Jury Expert, vol. 27, no. 3, 2015, pp. 47-50.
Segerstrale, Ullica, and Peter Molnár, eds. Nonverbal Communication: Where Nature Meets Culture. Routledge, 2018.
Schade, Andrew. Lying Behavior: The Effects of Dual-Task Performance and High Cognitive Load. Dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, 2015. UOI.
The Client. Directed by Joel Schumacher, performances by Brad Renfro, Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Regency Enterprises, 1994.
Wright Whelan, Clea, et al. “Subjective Cues to Deception/Honesty in a High Stakes Situation: An Exploratory Approach.” The Journal of Psychology, vol. 149, no. 5, 2015, pp. 517-534.