Why do people hate that Fireplace scene so much?

In my humble opinion. Dunst has got everything on Portman.

But that is for another miscellaneous thread...

--O.W.

 

I don't hate that scene. I love that scene.

And the dialogue there is not unreal. About three years ago I told a friend of mine how much I loved her. I literally sat her down sat her down on a sofa beside a fireplace (no joking) and told her in very poetic terms how much I loved her, and how beautiful she was to me. The words I used were just like the over-the-top dialogue that Anakin spoke to Padme. I lived that scene a few years ago. Believe me, it's very real. Those scenes do happen.

 

Care to recall what you said, dehrian?

 

Well...? And...? WHAT HAPPENED!??!?! You married her, right? Or did she burst out laughing and say "Why are you trying to woo me with what sounds like cheezy bad-movie dialogue?"

 

People don't like that scene because it's done in a way people aren't accustomed to. It's 2002. People like hip flashy actors who rattle off catchy love lines and then go for a roll in the hay (or maybe an "upside down kiss"). George dosen't make those kinds of movies (in other words George dosen't make silly fly-by-night action hero movies i.e. 'Spiderman')

Let's face it, George's style isn't popular. He's said as much in interviews.
As Roeper pointed out about the dialogue "Star Wars takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far far away so maybe this is before all these things became cliche." That may seem like a cop-out, but there's truth there.

GL is a very learned man. He's no dummy. He knows more about history and literature than probably all of us combined. He's also a student of film, particularily old film techiniques (ironic because he's on the cutting edge with digital cinema as well).

All of the romantic scenes (including the dreaded fireplace scene) have a very old fashioned quality. Which is why people laugh. They've never seen it done before except maybe on parody films.

Beyond that, the whole point of the scene isn't really about initmacy or even love. It's about Anakin not being able to control himself and going over the top to get Padme to love him.

If people went over "Spiderman" with as fine a toothed comb as this movie they'd find even more lame things.

But they don't. Why? Because nobody cares about Spiderman. No film has embedded itself into culture more than star wars and none ever will.

 

Oh well... I love the fireplace scene. Funny how my friends who are Shakespeare nutbags (like me) love the dialogue in AOTC.

RB

 

Waits for dehrian to share his cheesy lines

 

I love that scene. And the squirmishness is great.

 

First: I'm not a basher, I LOVED this film, and it's now my favorite Star Wars movie. This is definitely the worst scene of the movie, though. There was no explanation for it. I would have liked to see some casual dialogue first, or at least a better setup than "welp there they are, both sitting on the couch planning to discuss their undying yet forbidden love." Come on, at least have Anakin be getting done starting the fire or SOMETHING, so that we can see that they haven't been staring awkwardly for 25 minutes, which is just what it felt like for me.

And....they were talking like people schooled in rhetoric.
"We live in a real world Anakin, come back to it!"
The syntax is just so inverted (and not in a Yoda way) that it doesn't even seem real even in a Star Wars movie. The last time I saw this movie was on sunday so I could be off, they didn't even use contractions. I mean that might seem like such a nitpicky thing, but it makes a huge difference. Even if you're talking to someone you're desperately in love with you say I'm and not I am. I don't know, maybe they did use contractions, but even if they did, you get the idea. It left me with the impression of being very stiff. The fact that everyone thinks its bad doesn't mean there's a conspiracy to "hate on" the movie, it means that, yeah the scene quite possibly was bad. I understand its point, the character issues, and that Anakin's soul may indeed have been tortured, but it was just...bad.

JMO.

 

In my humble opinion. Dunst has got everything on Portman.

Actually, you're right...if you count out the looks

 

To me it was one of the film's greatest scenes and one of the greatest scenes in any Star Wars film. Natalie and Hayden are brilliant and this is a significant moment in the Star Wars saga. If not for the scene the romance would have been less convincing. The love between Padmé and Anakin is more convincing than Han and Leia.
P.S.: I like Dunst and when she is at her best few can match her. But Portman is ten times better in AOTC than Dunst is in Spiderman (Dunst just wasn't at her best in this average piece of junk called Spiderman).

 

I don't mind the fireplace scene. The first time I watched it, I found it rather dull, but the second time, I was enthralled. Now, the dialogue may not be the greatest ever found in a screenplay, but I think Natalie and particularly Hayden delivered there lines very well indeed. Also, there's lots of nice foreshadowing in Anakin and Padme's dialogue, and I think it's rather nicely lit. I don't think it was badly directed at all.

 

Bash bash bash bash bash....

Its funny how many people on a star wars message board hate star wars.

 

I'll tell you one of the cheesy lines I told her: "I don't see other women. I just see how they're not like you."

And what did she do? As I went on, her face just lit up, and she finally kissed me.

 

*Sigh*

hayden...

 

And how long did you know this friend, dehrian? Because that's certainly a big part of the complaints, they really barely know each other and all of sudden he's spouting this stuff at her. Suffer? He hasn't been with her long enough to really suffer, I don't care how much he's dreamt about her since he knew her for a week when he was 9 years old. Unless it's meant to show Anakin is obsessive and the generally unhealthiness of this relationship. Anakin's problem is he's got no sense of perspective except himself, that's the size of his "universe".


Troilus and Criseyde ended with Troilus being killed and coming to realize that all of his grand earthly passions really were nothing to the "pleyne felicitee" of heaven and he pitied the people left behind on the "litel spot of erthe" as in the moment of his death he'd come to realize how petty such things were.

 

I thought the fireplace scene was on par with the rest of the movie: it was fantastic!

 

Heh. I find it laughable that people complain about the dialogue in this film when it is no cheesier than the lyrics to the songs that most folks in here listen to.

I had a problem with the dialogue in TPM because most of it felt insincere and stiff coming from the actors. In fact, I don't think it was "cheesy" enough (btw, which is a silly word IMO. I think the term "relaxed" fits better).

 

And no less cheesey or corny than anything written by Shakespeare.

RB

 

Well I hope some people don't get offended by what I'm about to say but this sums up what I think on this subject.

You know why people are complaining so much about the fireplace scene and the love story in general is the following:

They have never been in a relationship before to even have an opinion about it.

People follow the crowd and judge scenes based on popular opinion.

Critics and fans don't understand that a movie can only do so much in so much time. You can't have too much or too little of the love story for AOTC. It was a no win situation which GL knew he was going into in this film. Critics and fans would complain either way. So he did what he could to write a love story so that you knew it was there.

My only complaint was that I think a scene should have been devised while on Naboo when Padme brings out the necklace that Anakin gave her years before as a sign that she still had it and still cared.

Overall I have little complaints about the love story, because not all love stories have the option of taking 2 hrs to develop. Basically AOTC had 30 minutes to do it in. Were some of the scenes and acting rushed? Yes it was, but anyone who has been in a relationship is that sometimes relationships are rushed and the two parties don't know what they are getting into. As a result of it being rushed and surrounded by death and destruction the relationship will turned to death and destruction. It's the times in which these two characters live in which will dictate their love for one another. That is the deciding factor in it all.

So that is why it was rushed and it looked like the two didn't know what they were doing. It will work out in the long run.

 

RB: And no less cheesey or corny than anything written by Shakespeare.

Ouch. "I do not agree with the Jedi on this".

Shakespeare scholars would die from a heart attack if they saw that statement RB.

SW dialogue is cheesy, either it's intentional or unintentional will be debated, but let's not drag the "Master" down with it. One is the painting of a sun while another is the Sun itself. BIG difference.

 

"People follow the crowd and judge scenes based on popular opinion."

www.hit-the-nail-on-the-head.com

 

It's a long time ago in a galaxy far away. Long time ago, get it!? We're not talking about modern time pick up lines here heard in movies like "American Pie" and TV shows like "Dawson?s Creek", were talking about true innocent romantic dialogue between 2 young lovers in a older time. A critic called the dialogue soap opera 101. Well, she's right. It's is clichéd, and that's why it works. By today standards it's considered, cheesy or even bad dialogue, but try watching an older movie like Gone With the Wind and you see it filled with this type of dialogue!

People complain that Star Wars has to many modern catch phrases and American sayings in it's films but when Lucas decides to use classical romantic dialogue reflecting it's times he gets grilled again. He just can't win.

 

mmmmmmmm pears... I wonder if Obiwan hates pears... ouch...I just cut myself... heh... pears..I hate...this thread...mmmmmm...pears... Anyways... I agree with razor this is pointless.

 

The fireplace scene was fine. Didn't see anything wrong with it. And the acting was right on.

of course the dialogue is somewhat cheesy and stiff, it's Star Wars. The sexual tension is why Padme seemed stiff - she was intrigued by if not attracted to these Jedi - young good looking men that she knew. But she also knows Jedi don't marry and are celibate.

I could see how she would be very attracted to Anakin and fall in love. These guys are the Knights of the Round Table, somewhat mysterious which makes them more interesting, famous and legendary and she must be able to pick up on Anakin's power - which he shows off a bit. That is sexy - his quiet alpha male stuff. I could easily see how she falls in love with this guy. it began when she puts the cover over the monitor in her apartment - doubt she'd care if Yoda was watching her sleep.

But she is being realistic - sees the difficulties in the relationship, the impossibilities and is reinforcing and talking herself out of even thinking about a romance.

and lucas is writing this for the primary audience of average age of 12 year olds. so the romance is somewhat simplistic. yet has to deal with very adult themes.

Really how is it going to work? How is Anakin going to explain this to the Council?