"Subtle Gestures" in AOTC Appreciation Thread

Say what you want about Portman's acting but after Anakin floats the fruit over to her her face is absolutely radiant. She is beaming with happiness and love. Darn Lucas for not letting some of these scenes go on a bit longer!

 

One of the most fantastic subtle gestures - or looks in this case, actually - that absolutely melts my heart, every time....it's that gorgeous, blossoming, heartfelt brilliant and honest smile that Anakin gives Padme after floating the shurra fruit over to her....just at the end of that scene, he favours her with that *beautiful*, pure, loving, boyish smile....

I completely agree. If I saw a guy smile that way at my sister, I'd have to like him.Another thing about Anakin's smile is that he's unsure of himself in this situation and I think the smile reflects both his love for Padme and his own pleasure at being able to make her happy. It's very innocent, sweet and endearing.

A sequel to this scene is during the arena battle when they meet up and Anakin says, "You call this a diplomatic solution?" and Padme responds, "No, I call it aggressive negotiations." Anakin flashes another wonderful smile at her, but it's different this time. It's absolutely brimming confidence. At this point, Anakin is completely in his element and has just had the girl of his dreams confess her love to him. He's got every reason to feel good about himself.

Also, another subtle but very definite impression I get from that scene, as Anakin so effortlessly demonstrates the Force - for his pleasure and for hers, certainly, but it's also rather a warmly, gently flirtatious thing to be doing....again, not that *I* could ever resist it!.... *melt* But, yeah, in any case - the feeling I get from it, in watching just those slightest, most delicate and easy little gestures that Anakin uses....just the barest flick of his fingers, and it's obviously the easiest and most natural thing in the world to him....and what I think of, in that moment, is that it's literally like music floating from his fingertips....as if he's conducting, and taking part in as well, this deft, gentle, sweet symphony....and he does it with only the lightest and most loving of touches. It's the pure music of his touch....it just seems so very clear to me....and the impression only grows ever-stronger and still more delightful with every viewing. [happy.gif]

I know what you mean. That was so smooth. It always surprises me that Padme could resist a guy like this for so long. The AOTC love story really works for me because of moments like this.

Say what you want about Portman's acting but after Anakin floats the fruit over to her her face is absolutely radiant. She is beaming with happiness and love.

I agree. Both actors have such nice chemistry in this scene that their faces tell the story by themselves.

 

I don't know if these have been pointed out, but I love it when during the Arena fight, when the Jedi are surrounded, Anakin flips his lightsaber around a couple of times, and stands with his arms above his head like "bring it on." Also, same thing for Obi right before he kills "his" creature. (The name is escaping me right now). And, when Anakin helps Padme out of the rickshaw on Tatooine. He takes her hand and and helps her step out, all the while never taking his eyes off her. Neat stuff to catch.

 

Princessleimanda - ohhh, yes, that moment in the rickshaw....I've *always* loved it so, always thought it was so very telling, very provocative - the fact that, aside from it being a very courtly and noble gesture, the way that he helps her from the rickshaw....it really is very much what the knights of old would do, so very courteous....not to mention exactly the kind of thing that *every* woman loves a guy to do for her. 'Least, that's how *I* look at it, because for sure and certain I know it would make me melt....though of course, the fact that it's Anakin making such a gesture, well, that only helps one's response to it immensely. *purr* But, yeah, like you said - it's the fact that he can't take his eyes off her as he's doing it....it's this very quietly, understatedly attentive....and says more for his total devotion to her than any words ever could.

Unswerving, eternal loyalty, that's what I see in that gesture of his - well, that and a complete care and affection, and *total* trust and love - and it's yet more proof that sometimes, the most powerful and evocative moments are those in which no words need be spoken. Just a long, lingering, devoted glance....a single warm, tender touch....and you just - *know*. It's the purely visual moments that strike home and have real, lasting impact as much as anything else....


Dawn.

 

Here's some things I thought were subtle in the movie.

* Nute Gunray looks like hell. The poor man has obviously gone downhill since his obsession with Padme took hold of him and he's aggitated and close to ranting.

* Anakin kills the Genosians as a matter of recourse for getting in his way. Even those just flying in front of him are cut down mercilessly.

* Anakin in the council chambers seems "cagey" as if he doesn't respect any of the Council that has rejected him. Ironically he seems to have some respect for Obi Wan

Which may explain why Vader is always going back to him

* This is a dialogue moment but Anakin says Obi Wan is as wise as Yoda and powerful as Master Windu

No he's not but Anakins sending up his mentor to his girlfriend

* Anakin is saying "he's holding me back!" in the same room that luke was in when he said he's never getting out of here (Owen is holding him back)

* The running theme behind Obi Wan and Anakin's relationships seems to be one disaster after another

"Good job."
"nests of gundarks"

It seems fairly obvious Anakin and Obi Wan...err...suck as a team

* Palpatine and Anakins meeting has the Emperor fold his hands just the way he does later on in Return of the Jedi

 

I'm glad other people have picked up on these little touches that make this movie great. (Too bad they were overlooked by the general poplulation)

Probably mentioned before:

Bail observing the Clone troopers go to war, with that look like, "Oh crap. This is bad," then pounding his fist on the balcony.

The flying pear scene...in addition to that entranced look Padme gives Anakin, I think I can hear her gasp a little. She's (and I) thinking at that moment, "Wow. Whatahottie!"

Same for the balcony scene, you can hear Anakin's breathing quicken as he moves in to make his "move"...

 

I don't know if this has been mentioned, and frankly I didn't want to search 10 pages of this topic to make sure I'm not repeating anything so I'll say it. I felt the TRUE classic subtlety was when Shmi was dying and Anakin was saying "Stay with me Mom, everything . . every -" And he made an expression almost like gritting his teeth, which hit me. This is the scene where I felt Hayden really shined. He perfectly expressed all the emotions of hope to hopelessness in a second. It was the one reaction I really remembered.

He didn't ball out crying or he didn't shout or underact, rather he did the middle ground. I dunno, it just really stood out for me.

 

LiquidRush - oh, yes, to be sure....an incredibly powerful moment that, I feel, hits you in the gut every time....and like you said, one of the things that breaks your heart so completely about it, and leaves you aching with such sympathy and just *feeling* his pain and fearful loss, in that moment - is the fact that he can't even say the words....can't even finish that sentence of vain reassurance....he's choking up too much on it to continue, and it's like he just can't force it out past the nearly suffocating lump in his throat....and all he can really do is just look, and feel, plainly miserable and distraught. And it's then that he really does seem like a lost, fragile, pitiable little boy....only then he has no one to take comfort in, no one's comfortable safe arms to retreat to, and then feel that it'll all be okay. He doesn't have that and you can see that he's just *breaking* inside right then.
And it is, I think, seeing a person in such pain - an emotional pain so overwhelming and intense that it becomes actual physical suffering....we've all felt its like before, we know....and when you do see someone who's hurting that much - it's the most arresting, devastating, wrenching, purely human and *real* thing imaginable.
*is choking up herself just to think about it*
Dawn.

 

I got choked up just reading your post Qui-Dawn! That is such a powerful scene, I get goosebumps everytime!

I also thought of another Boba Fett/Anakin similarity..both were raised by single parents. (heck, there's not a second parent that exists for either of them!)and both become orphaned at nearly the same time - at the event of their parents' deaths is a turning point in both of their lives...

 

Excellent thread.
Someone may have already mentioned this, but right after the wedding-day kiss, at the end of the movie, Padme looks up at Anakin, as if to say, "I have a bad feeling about this...." She's really scared. A great moment.

 

That's a really good one, BelRiose, that I don't think has even been brought up yet. There seems to be quite the inner turmoil going on with Padme there. She seems to really be questioning her decision.

 

Oh, I don't know....I never got the impression that she was questioning her decision, or that she felt anything other than a warm, suffusing love and a deep contentment, in the arms of the one that she realized - she *had* loved all along....denied it for far too long as it was, denied herself true happiness with the one who completed her soul. *thrills to the very thought* I just....well, I just think that Padme had been doing enough uncertainty and denying of her heart's desires as it was, up until that fateful moment before entering the arena, when she at last realized that she had nothing to lose by giving in to her heart....but *everything* to gain. If she'd *ever* had second thoughts or even fears, that would've been the time for it....yet she never hesitated, then, in confessing her love. And I think that says a lot, right there.

'Course, yeah - I can see there being some even minor trepidation or even far-off dread in both their hearts of what the future might hold for them, singly and together....the obstacles that they'd have to face, and the coming war that threatened all....so, yes, I can see how there'd be some faint, foreboding dread there....but I guess I just have to believe - and I've no doubt both of them did too, with all the desperate, hopeful passion of their young hearts - that because they *did* love each other so, had made that promise....that nothing else mattered. Not even the distant stormclouds potentially threatening their future.... It's something that even I don't wish to see when I watch that scene. Then again, I really am always just misting up so and in general revelling in the perfect love and beauty of that moment....that's all I try to care about.

Still....for sure and certain it's an interesting observation that you've made....leads to much musing, that's obvious....and that can only be a good thing.


Dawn.

 

Qui-Dawn, watch the fireplace scene and the wedding back-to-back. Padme says, "We'd be living a lie. I couldn't live like that." Cut to the wedding scene, and here they are, about to undergo living like that. Watch Padme carefully. It's definately all hitting her.

 

Mmmm, yeah, I'm sure that it's all definitely hitting her in that moment, the sheer enormity of what they've both just done....the great impact that it's bound to have on both their lives - though of course, there's no way for them to know the impact that it'll have on the whole galaxy too - and for sure it's only a natural thing that the ramifications of such a decision or life-choice would be really hitting you hard, right around that time....probably would give most anyone a serious case of nerves, I'd imagine. Of course, just because it may all be hitting her like a thousand of brick in that moment, I just don't think as she's - ulp - *regretting* it, or anything....heavens, no! *cringes at the mere thought* But doubtless, though, for both of them, there's probably this (understated) internal reaction of, well, now we've done it, there's no going back....though we'd *never* want to....so, what now? What comes of this? Who knows what we'll have to face....

But again, I suppose that it'd be only natural to feel so. Of course, when two people *do* love each other, even those serious, deeply-looming external considerations do tend to matter much, much less....and I suppose that at the time, at least, they're just not worth bothering with....when you love someone so much and give your heart to them, your very life. That kind of love mitigates a *lot*, in my book. Even if the external circumstances affecting and even outright threatening Anakin and Padme are far, far greater, much more grave and massively altering, than most anyone can imagine, much less ever have to face....but still I think the fact that they *do* love each other - that makes up for *everything*. It has to....darn it, that's what I believe, and I'm stickin' to it.


Dawn.

 

Just got through another round of AOTC yesterday and today....and I'm rather continually delighted and impressed myself at the nuances and subtleties that I keep picking up on, and savouring deeply....hundreds of viewings by now it must be, yet still I just can't get enough of 'em. And, personally, I do get such a tremendous kick out of it when these things strike me....like when I notice something that maybe only imprinted subconsciously on me before, but when consciously it occurs to you....well, I just find it a remarkable and eminently satisfying experience....as well as *always* very satiating, indeed. Upping for now, then....but in the meantime.... *eagerly scampers over to the DVD player*


Dawn.

 

It might have been mentioned/ discussed in the 9 pages of this thread I didn't read, so excuse me, but I love how Anakin turns his back to the camera each time in every angle in the scene after the nightmare on Naboo. Problem is: I just never know what it's supposed to mean. I have different idead everytime I see it.
Any ideas? Help me

 

TwiLekJedi, good observation. I had never noticed the "back turning" before, but I propose the following (long) explanation. It is because of his attachments that he begins to turn "away" from the Jedi and "towards" the Dark Side. Note the following succession of events, through quotes, in Anakin's life:

Qui Gon: ""Anakin, training to be a Jedi will not be a easy challenge. And if
you succeed, it will be a hard life."

Obi Wan: "You've made a commitment to the Jedi order. A commitment not easily broken."

So you have a quote about how difficult it is to be a Jedi, yet how difficult it is to turn from that commitment once it is in place. Yet when he has the dream about his mother, he says that Jedi don't have nightmares, although he did. He later admits, in so many words, during the confession scene, that he, as a Jedi, should be better than to kill the innocent. The two are tied. He first refuses to accept his weaknesses but then, when he commits an act replete with weakness, he regrets it but doesn't turn from his actions; he acknowledges them. However, those very action are manifesations of what he refuses to acknowledge: he is losing his sense of identity and is turning away from the principles of the Jedi, with the ultimate result being he is no longer a Jedi and no longer Anakin (that name no longer has any meaning to him). He thinks there is no turning back ("It is too late for me, son") and so does his master ("By now you must know that your father can never be turned from the Dark Side."). Although Vader turns his back from that moment (the nightmare) on, when he lets his attachments overpower him, he will one day defy his own expectations and face the self he has for so long refused to acknowledge.

 

*applauds* Beautiful observations, right on-target and *so* very true....all kudos to you! I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically agree....very astute on your part, for sure, both you guys....you've really got my mind deeply and seriously wandering now - and I can think of no better thing to be doing on a lazy, hazy Sunday afternoon than to be musing. Inspired....now I feel inspired....


Dawn.

 

Good stuff PA. , er actually disturbing really.

But we've yet to see what other events happen that will encourage him more and more to embrace the Darkside. Most likely it will make AOTC look like childs-play.

 

Great Thread!

This isn't so much a AOTC-only thing, but have you ever noticed that

"Where are you going?"

is said both in ANH and AOTC in the Lars kitchen?

In ANH, Luke gets up, annoyed he has to stay on Tat.

Beru: "Where are you going?"
Luke: "Looks like I'm going nowhere.."

In AOTC, Anakin has been told his mother is dead. He determindely rises.

Owen: "Where are you going?"
Anakin: "To find my mother!"

After each scene the Skywalker exits to stare off at the twin suns setting...


This parallel structure foils the two character's personality. I'm not going to state the obvious, so think about it sometime if you really want to.

Very interesting...

 

The Imperial Guard is the best subtle cameo in AOTC.

 

Thx, PA. That's what I thought now and again, too.

Plus, I really love the shirt he's wearing there (but that's for another thread )

 

TwiLekJedi - mmm, yes, and speaking of The Shirt....have you seen the essay that MissPadme wrote on her site about the significance of that scene, and of course, waxing most poetically, marvellously and entirely rightly on The Shirt....the subtlety and symbolism inherent in that scene - oh, just *everything* about it....I really do recommend reading that essay....heck, reading *every* one of 'em on her site, for that matter. And I must say, The Shirt one in particular is enough to tempt me to print it out and frame it on my wall....with appropriate pics included to illustrate.... *purr*


Dawn.

 

It's probably been said here somewhere already but Abstract's mention of the Imperial Guard cameo reminded me of something that I noticed in both TPM and AotC. Darth Vader has the same helmet as the Naboo guards/security. I always thought that was cool. I wonder if it will ever be explained in any way...

 

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