What’s so important about a dinner scene? And why would a director waste their time on something
so simple? That’s what we’re going to focus on today, so welcome, to Now You See I-
I think dinner scenes are some of the most powerful and revealing scenes in film. They
always show much more than people eating. They show communion. When I say communion, I mean an
act of sharing and peace between the people at the dinner table. Directors use the dinner
scene to show us relationships between each character. How they get along, or how they don't.
But I think even more is going on. We all know the process of eating a typical
dinner. You eat, talk about your day, make a few jokes, and call it a night. So when
a meal goes wrong in a film, we especially notice because we’re used to dinners going
a certain way. And that’s what gives a dinner scene so much potential, either for humor,
or for drama.
Let's look at what dinner scenes can accomplish in three sections: Humans Eat, the Conflict, and The Unexpected
Whether you’re a contract killer or a demi-God, you have to eat. And that makes you human.
Showing characters eating makes them human, like us. It puts us into their world. It makes us relate with
them. We can’t relate to stealing diamonds or getting shot, but we can relate to getting
in an argument at the table. Dinner scenes make us empathize with characters. Tarantino
uses the dinner scene very well in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction to pull us into the
world of his films. When these characters, who we just saw have a friendly meal, start
getting shot and rob the restaurant, it’s that much more shocking because we saw them
as who they were, people. People who eat just like we do.
When people come together for dinner, it’s supposed to be a peaceful communion. But it
doesn’t always go that way. Dinner scenes are perfect ways to show conflict. When people
storm out
break dishes
or get left alone
that says a lot about the characters without having to tell us.
And so a successful meal means just the opposite.
Dinner doesn’t always go smoothly. It doesn’t for us in real life, and it certainly doesn’t
for the characters in a movie. Since we can relate to how awkward a meal can be, it can
be that much funnier when a dinner scene doesn’t go as expected.
Or it can be that much more dramatic.
To go from the familiar dinner scene to an alien busting out of somebodies’ chest really
adds to the horror.
A dinner that’s just a dinner would be boring. A director wouldn’t waste a scene with something
as simple as people eating if it wasn’t to show something more important. That’s
what I love about film. A film doesn’t have to tell us something. It doesn’t have to
tell us “this person doesn’t get along this person” or “this person is human
just like you.” It can show us.
Showing rather than telling is what makes a film go from good to great.
And a dinner scene can be quite the show.
Thanks for Watching