She’s one of the most memorable movie villains in years, and the most loyal of Lord Voldemort’s “Death Eaters.” Across the various Harry Potter films in which she has appeared, Bellatrix Lestrange (played by Helena Bonham Carter) is almost always a flurry of motion. Her facial expression is soft and mocking one moment, hard and vicious the next. Her eyes are constantly watchful, and she stares intensely with hostility at any who oppose her. Her gestures are large and vivid, even as her body shifts quickly from one posture to the next, rarely remaining still. All of these movements combine to accentuate the anger, loathsomeness, and evil associated with her character.

As depicted in the movies, Lestrange exemplifies the power of kinesics (from the Greek kinesis, meaning “movement”)—visible body movements. Kinesics is the richest nonverbal code in terms of its power to communicate meaning, and it includes most of the behaviors we associate with nonverbal communication: facial expression, eye contact, gestures, and body postures.