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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Why do people hate that Fireplace scene so much?

Discussion in 'Archive: Attack of the Clones' started by Vodstok, May 24, 2002.

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  1. Vodstok

    Vodstok Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    May 13, 2002
    I mean, really, have none of you ever had an experience like that? I felt for the poor bastard. Maybe personal experience is clouding my judgement, but I tell you what, feeling that strongly about someone and then coming to the conclusion that you can't be together is probably one of the most painful things you can ever experience.
     
  2. DarthSakroc

    DarthSakroc Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 10, 2001
    I have no problem with it. Lines ARE a bit corny, but so what? You get the point of the scene.
     
  3. SLAVE2

    SLAVE2 Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2000
    The only problem I had with it, wasnt the acting, or dialogue but how quickly it came. I know we dont see everything, but it did seem to come out of the blue.
     
  4. The Bigger Fish

    The Bigger Fish Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 24, 2000
    *Sigh*

    Natalie....
     
  5. DarthSakroc

    DarthSakroc Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 10, 2001
    Yes, to SLAVE2 Lucas should listen! Give us Padme family on DVD! ;)
     
  6. Believe

    Believe Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    May 21, 2001
    That's the problem of not having a Tv set ...
    I think the scene is awful, and tottaly irrelevant. It shouldn't be part of the movie. Han and Leia never had a scene like that, and their love was far more believable. It was lousy! The movie needed that scene, "just has i need a shotgun blast to the face"!
     
  7. Lord_Spot

    Lord_Spot Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    May 24, 2002
    The only thing that I did not like about it was that I was not there with Natalie in that sexy outfit !!!
     
  8. ElegantWeapon

    ElegantWeapon Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 27, 2001
    You know there's like 5 scenes that makeup the visit to Padme's family that got cut?

    Anyway I don't mind the Fireplace scene.
    Afterall Natalie looks hot!
     
  9. Lord-Digga

    Lord-Digga Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    May 24, 2002
    I guess vodstock didnt mean that he had problems with the storyline, he means that the fact of loving somebody and you cant live out this love is horrible. I excatly know what you are saying :(
     
  10. FOX1973

    FOX1973 Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2001
    I loved the scene.

    They were awkward, uneasy, cliched... just like 2 people who've never been in love before. It shouldn't have been anything like Han/Leia.

    Best of all was Anakin's delivery- compare the way he speaks with, say, Vader's death scene in ROTJ. Perfect.
     
  11. DarthNomis

    DarthNomis Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 2, 2001
    I agree SLAVE2. While the scene in itself was not bad (I found it quite interesting actually) but it just kind of "POPS" in on you.

    the previous scene with the flying apple is all sweet and everything in the afternoon then all of a sudden it night, the're alone and their clothes are different????

    A better transition or some kind of fade in to the scene would've made the feel of the fireplace scene have a more natural flow.
     
  12. Bilton

    Bilton Jedi Youngling star 1

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    May 17, 2002
    DarthNomis hit the nail on the head. It's the editing that's the problem where. The sudden switch to the cliched romantic fireside set was a tad too corny.
     
  13. BobaFrank

    BobaFrank Jedi Youngling star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 17, 2001
    Because the dialogue was atrocious. People in the auditorium around me either laughed or groaned.

    I love SW but man it was awful. I felt bad for Hayden having to say those lines.
     
  14. BrendanM

    BrendanM Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 17, 2002
    The dialogue in that scene that works best is when Anakin pleads, "Listen to me," and she says, "No, YOU listen." This seems realistic to me... I'm not trying to generalize, but I think that sometimes when men and women communicate, the man will often try to use logic and reason (or his version of it) to a fault, whereas the woman will often follow emotions and feelings to a fault. What Anakin is saying makes perfect sense to him, if only he could get Amidala to just listen to him. I liked this scene... it was sad and a little desperate.
     
  15. LUH-3417

    LUH-3417 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 11, 2001
    I didn't think it was bad at all.

    Perhaps GL works too close up to the release date and therefore things get edited a little funny, but I hope to see it (along with some previously cut build-up scenes) in the DVD.

    He can add stuff IMO, as long as it helps things along.
     
  16. Darth Sin

    Darth Sin Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 1999
    For those that hate this scene or not comfortable with it; realize that we get information from Anakin early on that he has been dreaming about Padme for the entire 10 years. That 9 year old boy in TPM was hooked on her since that time, and had begin to love her. "I care for you too"!!

    Then after 10 years he sees the woman again he has fallen in love with. So when you consider this, you can have a better understanding of what he has been through, and then to have to deal with that after all this time, then seeing her, being around, and knowing you love her and then cannot be with her. That is like death :_|

    Also, I am not excusing anything, but has anyone considered that you have a young Jedi-in-training here with a Senator. Both professions make it difficult for them to be very emotional. They are trained for public service and have had no real time to express their emotions for anyone much.

    The Jedi basically teach and train themselves to have very little feelings and emotions. This partly explains why Anakin finds it hard to have the so-called right words to express to Amidala; likewise it is pretty much the same for her given her position as a Senator.


    Darth Sin! :cool:
     
  17. Riley Man

    Riley Man Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 1999
    The editing may have been an issue, the way it does kind of pop on. But I definitely think the dialog was poor, at least the first five or six lines. Those lines weren't even awkward -- they were unnatural. There's a difference.
     
  18. Patrick Russell

    Patrick Russell Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 9, 1998
    The more I think about it, the more I realize that in addition to the horrible dialogue in that scene (and I'm gonna get creamed for this, I know) Natalie Portman's performance itself is just far too flat and vanilla to breathe any life into the romance scenes (other than the brief flash of personality she shows in the "field of daisies" scene) and I think that helps to drag down an already doomed scene during the whole fireplace debacle.

    I've seen the thing four times now, and I find myself liking Hayden's AOTC performance more all the time, even in the romance scenes. He's a bit green as an actor, sure. But he not only gives it a good effort, but he also really has the Skywalker look happening... almost like Bizarro Luke in a way.

    Natalie, on the other hand, LOOKS great, and having seen her in other movies I know she's a very good actress, but in the Star Wars flicks she too often just comes across as emotionally frigid. There are a few flashes of something more in AOTC, but by and large I don't see her playing the role with much relish... it's as if she gives up on scenes too easily if they aren't written well. Look at this dreaded fireplace scene for example. Now, this is arguably the WORST written scene in the entire SW series so far IMHO (not that the rest of the romance scenes are written all that well...). Every time I see it, the audience just GROANS through the entire thing. And whether you think he pulls it off or not, at least Hayden is trying his ass off to make that scene work.

    The problem is, he's really not getting anything back from Natalie. If there's one scene in the movie where those two actors should have been hurling emotional fireballs at one another, it's that one... crappy dialogue or not. Natalie (IMHO) comes off like she's reading off of cue cards half the time. And this, IMHO is the final nail in the coffin for that scene. The atrocious dialogue is bad enough, but Natalie really comes off like she's a kid in a high school play in that scene... which is all the more odd to me because I KNOW she is a very good actress.
     
  19. Chewie76

    Chewie76 Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2002
    I was sitting there thinking...Anakin is about to jump Padme's bones!

    But seriously, the scene was great...it showed Anakins range of emotions.

    OUT
     
  20. EnforcerSG

    EnforcerSG Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 12, 2001
    My one problem what that it seemed that in several shots, Portman was slightly out of focus, but the fire was clear as could be. That threw me off for a little bit.

    The acting was bad, but it did not bother me.
     
  21. Darth_Jaxon

    Darth_Jaxon Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2001
    I like the scene a lot actually. Anakin has been in love with this woman for 10 years and on that balcony she gives him a taste of what he's been dreaming of all this time and then, suddenly, she pulls away. How would you feel if you cam oh so close to being with the woman you've loved for a decade and then all of the sudden she put the brakes on everything. I think I'd be pretty desperate too. I think Hayden's performance is full of raw emotion and it really plays well in this scene.

    As for the dialog, yes I agree that it's not something you would say every day. However, to me it has a Shakespearean ring to it. It's definately not the poetry of Shakespeare, but I think it does a decent job of invoking that image (the Romeo and Juliet mold?) I think it's perfect for Star Wars. What better in a movie that combines various genres of mythology to try to invoke a feeling from some of the greatest romances ever in the love scenes.
     
  22. AL

    AL Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 22, 1998

    Why do people hate that Fireplace scene so much?

    Because it sucks serious ass. The dialogue is horrid (Shakespearean? Ever read any of the Bard's plays luv?), the performances wooden, the camerawork shabby and predictable and the whole thing evokes a sense of pure high-scholl amateur drama.

    The most cringeworthy bit?

    Anakin: Listen to me!

    1

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    Padme: (Supposedly interupting) No, you listen!

    Shudder
     
  23. AniheartPadme

    AniheartPadme Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    May 20, 2002
    I think the lines/dialogues were meant to be stiff, besides didn't Hayden said in an interview that he needs to at least copy how Vader talks in OT. I maybe wrong but oh well, I got no problem with the fireplace scene or the entire movie at all.
     
  24. Darth_Jaxon

    Darth_Jaxon Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2001
    Wooden..the new Star Wars buzz word. Can anyone think of anything original to say about the dialog? I think 99% of the people who claim that the dialog is "wooden" have no idea what that even means. I don't think anyone claims the dialog is amazing, but it does it's job. Nothing wrong with that in a movie sci fi movie that's meant to be fun. What on earth do some people expect from Star Wars?

    As far as my Shakespearean comment, I knew some ahole would take me to task about it. Nowhere did I say the dialog was on par with anything Shakespeare ever wrote. All I meant is that the dialog, in my opinion, was meant to evoke a feeling of some of the great romances like Romeo and Juliet, etc..
     
  25. Jedimama

    Jedimama Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 7, 1999
    I loved Hayden in that scene. I thought he did an awesome job.
    Women are considered to be the 'emotional' sex, but when it comes to love, men are capable of extremely powerful emotions. Men lose it when they are in love - they are almost desperately in love. I thought Hayden conveyed that emotion very well. When he told Padme "I will do anything you ask" it took my breath. I've heard that before -I'm certain most (adult) women have heard that before.
    But I agree that Padme was not very good. She had a few good moments, like when she shifted position uncomfortably when Anakin began telling her how he felt. That was believable. Everything else was forced, and without real emotion.
     
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