Certain things which exist in real life take on a different meaning when projected on film. It is a universal truth that, when we see things or places with which we are normally familiar on films, something changes and we become unexplainably excited. If we see the city where we live on film, our minds go into overdrive and we see no fault in explaining to our partner everything we know about the place, regardless of their interest. Of course, if a film is set in reality, we will frequently experience this kind of recognition and whilst most places pass us by, there are a few which take on further significance through film. They become symbols for something else, meeting places for something greater. They are the places in which change occurs and thus we believe that they will be the places in which our lives will change, too.
The diner is somewhat of a temple in cinema, reserved only for the most meaningful and memorable of film scenes. Maybe it’s the overabundance of caffeine, maybe it’s the instant effect of vast sugar consumption but something seems to happen to characters when they visit diners; they just seem to get stuff done. In light of this realisation, it’s time that we celebrate the best of the diners, the places which would turn us into something great if we could just get to visit them.
Twin Peaks
David Lynch’s announcement of the return of the Twin Peaks to our television screens means one thing and one thing only: Coffee. Whilst the plot centres around the brutal murder of local beauty Laura Palmer, FBI Agent Dale Cooper’s dependency on coffee often threatens to overtake Palmer as star of the show. And with good reason; Cooper knows his coffee and uses it as the elixir of life, slurping down the inky black liquid to propel him every further on the case. Promotional material of Kyle MacLachan in guise of Cooper features the detective standing tall, coffee cup in hand. For Twin Peaks, the diner is a pivotal part of the plot and place in which Cooper can go to recharge and stumble across crucial narrative points. The diner here is the office away from the office, the place where Cooper can do all of his best thinking with a little sleuthing thrown in for good measure. If the coffee’s black and steaming, Cooper will be there.
Back to the Future
In parts I and II of the beloved film series, the diner is an integral part of the plot. In the first film, Marty travels back to the 1950s and to the point in time in which his parents fell in love. When Mary first ventures back in time, he bewilderedly stumbles into the town’s local diner, hoping to track down Doc and return back to the 1980s. It is in the diner that Marty bumps into the teenage version of his father, cowering from local bullies from beneath the diner counter. Crucially, the diner is a place in which Marty’s father finds his courage (of sorts) and, by default, stands up to the bullies. Here, it is a place of social exchange, where reputations are made and destroyed.
Cleo de 5 a 7
In France, diners do not exist. The café reigns supreme. Agnes Varda’s real time movie has its fair share, moving from Paris landmark to landmark as it follows its lead for two hours of her day. Cleo, a successful singer, is waiting for the results of a biopsy and wanders around the city in order to distract herself from her increasing glom. Towards the start of her trial, she enters a packed French café, promptly walking to the juke box and putting on one of her records. Although she is surrounded by people that she knows, involved in a busy conversation, Cleo is essentially alone in the building. In this scene, the café is a place void of meaning, where people meet to put on appearances and interact with the empty world around them. Trust France to make the happy diner a bleak prospect.
Short Cuts
In Robert Altman’s definitive rendition of Raymond Carver’s selection of short stories, characters come and go throughout the film, passing through the reels as they pass through their day. In a brief but nonetheless lasting plot point, a couple bicker and argue, to come together in happy unison at the end. The woman works in a diner and it is whilst she is at work that the majority of the couple’s interactions take place. After an argument, her boyfriend sits at the counter, shifting backwards and forwards between the roles of lover and customer. Short Cuts focuses on the faces behind the counter just as much as it does the customers; the diner is a place of interaction, where ‘they’ meet ‘us’ and everything becomes very messy indeed. Apart from the personal tensions, the diner in the film is one of the most appetising locations, coloured like an ice cream sandwich.
Diner
Everything about Diner comes back to the same place. As with many great films, Diner starts with a wedding. Old friends come together to celebrate their friend’s upcoming marriage and in the course, divulge the stories of their lives, undergo a few changes and ultimately, wish that they were teenagers once more. The diner is the place in which the friends all come together in the beginning, the neutral and yet not-so-neutral ground which gives them free reign to return to their adolescent counterparts. The film is episodic and whilst they drift in and out of drunkenness, arguments, trysts and revelations, the characters all end up at the place in which they founded their friendships. Whilst the film is about male bonding, it’s as much about the nostalgia of teenage-hood and the need to look back when making life changes. The diner is a place in which the men still exist as children and, each time they revisit it, they enter a lost moment in time.