Importance of ‘mundane’ in screenwriting

Brushing your teeth, signing a form, cooking a meal- everyone does it to get through their daily lives. Watching the occasional cut of a character brushing their teeth wouldn’t invoke the same goosebumps a character fighting monsters would, but rather tethers its story to human emotion. If there were scenes of Luke Skywalker brushing his teeth more often, we’d start believing he’s just a guy like me, and you. Mundane cuts allow the story to feel believable, and make the scene as close to reality as possible; they function as transitions; allowing the narrative to flow without any gaps, however, in some cases the “mundaneness” of the scene is highlighted, using it as the writer’s mouthpiece to build upon the reality of life as it is. I'll dissect ‘marriage story’ to help understand the subtle significance these tools possess.

What I love about Nicole / what I love about Charlie - marriage story’s introduction

This monologue of appreciation sets off the film - about divorce. Charlie appreciates the mundane, regular aspects of Nicole, the finer details, nothing bombastic is being said. It’s their everyday routine that’s most memorable to Charlie, proving that love is a consistent effort and not a one-time profession

But I think a lot of the best-executed mundane scenes are where you don't really think, realize or care that it's a mundane activity. Unless there's specific attention drawn to its normality, then it will be a cinematic scene that happens to be about a mundane activity.

I think a good portion of all films, especially non-action films, are made up of mundane activities. Drama films make regular conversations intense. Comedies make physical activities ridiculous and silly.

Context is really important though. Conversations or movements or activities only have power with established context. On the Waterfront mixes mundane activities like conversation and dockhand working with intense drama and high stakes. But the stakes only exist because of mob corruption, that's why the mundane activities are so cinematic. In When a Stranger Calls, the crux of the film is about phone call harassment. The fear of isolation and vulnerability makes the mundane activity of receiving a phone call, or even house-sitting, one of intensity. In this movie (and remake), specific attention is drawn to the fact that phone calls are such a ubiquitous experience though.

Then there are writers like Sorkin or Tarantino who make sharp, witty dialogue. That combined with their characters that talk about hobbies and personal lives unrelated to the plot make those scenes feel immersive and energetic rather than boring and mundane