"The thought of not being with you, I can't breathe"

That was the line Anakin gives Padme at her home in Naboo. Then Padme responds, "We live in a real world...come back to it."
followed a bit later by,"If you follow your thoughts to conclusion it will take us to a place we cannot go, regardless of the way we feel about each other. I will not let you give up your future for me." Anakin follows this with, "You are asking me to be rational and this is something I cannot do."

Now to all the women on these boards help me out. Once the romantisism of this statement wore off is this not a HUGE red flag? Padme says,"I will not give into this." Now I say all that to point out that 1) I never liked this scene and I know it took flack from a lot of people but fast forward to ROTS and Mustafar and they are back to the original problems again. So was the problem just the fact that he was a Jedi forbidden to love? If he weren't a Jedi would that have made thier relationship last? I know what I think I'd like to hear others. 2) Combine that with the fact Lucas designed her outfit for this scene and it was the only one he did so on. Anyone look closely at it? Notice anything odd? You can almost make a black arm and hand reaching around Padme's neck. Interesting forshadow. 3) By the time Padme meets Anakin both have been under stress feeling the one thing they live and fight for is slipping away but those beliefs have pulled them miles and miles further from each others ideals it is almost polar opposites.

Yet neither understands exactly how the other "changed" when in all reality they weren't changing but becoming more and more who they truly were. Because they couldn't be rational and what they knew was right at the time. So again Padme's qoute of following thier thoughts to conclusion comes up as it is actually being played out before us. The irony now is that the thought of not being with her caused him to make it where she was the one who couldn't breath literally. Then he ends up saying he couldn't live the lie because it would, "Destroy us" The final irony coming when the thing his is known for from that point on his his what...breathing. Thoughts?

 

I'm not a Sorririt-izer, (Or your type of Gender truthfully) but there is only one unusual thing I hate about this scene...
"We live in a real world...come back to it."
IT'S A GI-NORMOUS, EXTRA-MEDIUM GALAXY!

 

Actually think about it this way. Padme says this (it seems so over the top) but, what she is pointing out that in the "real world" (SW Galaxy) they are in, Anakin and her cannot make it together. She's asking him to get back to reality.

But in reality, yes, in the SW galaxy, Padme is also fighting her feelings for him. In other words, she's being defensive, realizing that he indeed can see through her guise. "Then you do feel something": Anakin

 

Everytime I watch that scene where Anakin says that line, I instantly think of what he is to become, a guy who literally can't breathe on his own and needs mechanical support for that. To me, I think it's nice forshadowing. Without Padme, he can no longer breathe on his own. I think it's interesting that GL chose these exact words so that there's this double meaning. Anakin could have said something like, "the thought of not being with you is painful" or something like that. I like the idea that Anakin says he can't breathe.

I think it's interesting you mentioned the black dress seemed like a choking hand. I do recall that Nathalie Portman complained that that dress was really tight, making it difficult to breathe in.

 

Fantastic observations!

 

Lol! Lucas must have been going for a really genuine performance from Natalie.

Natalie:
"I... can't... breathe"

Lucas:
"Great! Go with it."

 

Well yeah the way he must have meant even the "choking hand" as forshadowing.

 

NOTE: A LONG post that has to do with this, examples from AotC and RotS.

Excatly. Padme was telling Anakin that they don't live in his little world/galaxy where Jedi and Senators fall in love with each other and have kids and do virtually impossible things like (cough)stopsomeonefromdying(cough). They live in the real world/galaxy where Jedi are forbidden to fall in love with Senators and marry them and have kids.


To me, that one scene fortold the downfall of Padme and Anakin. Padme tells Anakin that if he and/or she follows their thoughts, then it would take them down a path they couldn't follow.

"You're going down a path i can't follow!"-Padme; RoTS.

Anakin had allowed his thoughts (Of saving Padme from dying) to take him down the path, which was,unfortunally, the Dark Side of the Force and Padme wouldn't have it.

"You're asking me to be rational, that is something i know i cannot do."- Anakin; AoTC.
Doesn't this raise a red flag? We see it all in RotS when Anakin is not acting rational. (He doesn't think about what is the right thing to do, he acts based on his thoughts and feelings. He was INSTRUCTED by Mace Windu to stay in the Jedi Council Chamber.)


So, maybe perhaps, what might have been a perfect example of a lousy love story, actually fortold what would happen near the end of RotS?

 

I don't think the love story is lousy at all.

 

I don't think it's lousy either. I'm just saying that for those who think it's lousy, it may not be as lousy as THEY think.

 

I definatly think the;

The thought of not being with you - I can't breath;"

Line is a deliberate nod towards whats going to happen to Anakin. Remember, the reason he allows himself to become Darth Vader is because he isn't willing to allow Padme to die.

As for whether Anakin and Padme's love story is lousy; To be honest, it always been one of the things I enjoyed most about Attack of the Clones. Its always worked for me, anyway.

 

Just to add to that...not only did Anakin become this machine that could not breathe on its own, but he became that way because of her. He can't breathe without her, literally. Padme died, and he became this monster. I think George is just a pure genius.

[image=http://swg.stratics.com/content/feature/movies/padme.jpg]

That dress is pretty scary now that I recognize the "hand" around her throat...that is an amazing observation Circle_Is_Complete

 

Thank you. Thanks for the image post.

 

Great post! I think I'll watch AOTC tonight instead of ROTS.

 

Now that is something you don't hear too often

 

not only that, but she seems to be wearing the top part of the heads up display from ROTS

 

It's just a good thing Lucas didn't decide to forshadow Motti's Force Choke. I'm thinking he doesn't look as good in that outfit

 

great observation, circle is complete.

So was the problem just the fact that he was a Jedi forbidden to love? If he weren't a Jedi would that have made thier relationship last? I know what I think I'd like to hear others.

i have been discussing this back, forth and all around for the last couple of days, so here's just my conclusion: the jedi do not like their members having a commitment outside the order.

 

I can agree that the relationship plot is set up in a weird way, but it's certainly not set up in an impossible way. My main conflict is with the acting ablity, not the characters in themselves...Well, after Episode II and up, that is.

In The Phantom Menace, I failed to see how Anakin and Padmé set up a romance plot. At first, it was obvious Anakin had a crush on her. Big deal, it happens. They got to know each other a little better after they left Tatooine, also, no big deal. For the most part, they acted like brother and sister more than anything. I don't think Padmé acted like she cared about him that much other than in a sisterly way. In Attack of the Clones, I think they jumped right into the romance plot way too fast. They barely knew each other in Episode I, so why in the hell would Padmé "fall in love" with Anakin over ten years. I can see that so easily for Anakin, but not so much for Padmé. Okay, fine, obviously she did. Pretty bad, as a matter of fact. If not, I don't see why she could even care about Anakin after he let it all spill out in the fireplace scene. Most women are extremely turned off by that-- Except the ones that truely feel something for the guy. Once again, Anakin lost it and slaughtered the Tuskens. I don't know many girls that would cling to guys who slaughtered a whole camp, even stronger than before.

In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin and Padmé's relationship was set up fully on longing and lust. I've been in relationships where I hadn't seen the person for up to six months at a time, I remember when I haven't seen girls for years and years and the second we met again, they were clinging all over me. It's far from impossible, it can happen, it does happen. You can cling to this kind of relationship for a hell of a long time, but it really depends on the couple in question. I don't think Anakin and Padmé were destined to be together even if in some way they found a way to save each other from their set fate in the Republic and the Jedi Order. Padmé would get sick of waiting for Anakin to come back, of hiding their lives together, and I think in time Anakin's lust for power would end it, anyway. I just never saw them growing old together.

In summary, Anakin and Padmé didn't have a real lasting relationship. They had something that would ware away with time. They forced puppy love into something more, and you can't just force things like that, you have to let it come naturally.

 

Though I enjoy the PT (over 5,000 posts, almost all in the PT forums), I still think making Anakin start off as a 10-year-old boy was *overall*, a mistake: mostly because of the importance of his relationships with Padme, Obi-Wan, and Palpatine.

Anyway: the fireplace scene is, IMHO, by far the best "romantic" scene between them. Hayden does a great job as the fidgeting, awkward teenager who is head over heels, but doesn't know how to get his feelings across.

Natalie isn't quite as good, but mostly because of her delivery I think. Still, she does a credible job as a woman uncomfortable with the situation, but unwilling to make it stop - until the "we live in a real world" bit - there, the Senator part of her personality is saying they've gone too far.

"You're right - it would destroy us". I brought this up in my thread on Anakin's foresight abilities, but I'll mention it here:

do you think Anakin actually foresees this happening when he says "it would destroy us"?

He seems pretty sure to me - like he knows they shouldn't be together, not just because of the present, but because of what will happen in the future.

 

This is a great thread and a great observation. Ill have to watch AOTC now. I personally always liked the romance in AOTC and unfortunately for me mine is alot like this...Havent slaughtered anyone yet though

 

I agree. Starting off Anakin's character young sets up for three movies, yes, but it doesen't really set up for get relationships later on. Very nicely said.

From a certain perspective, both Anakin and Padmé seem like they know it's not meant to be. You don't have to use the force to know that. They're just trying to make a dead horse dance, in my opinion.

 

I used to think so, but I really started to think about Anakin being the strongest Force user ever, and how he would receive visions.

 

Do you think the attachment thing is more precautionary for the Jedi or it is because they want to limit their emotions?

I agree wit this so much I don't know where to start HAHA!. I think Padme was a mother or sister figure in TPM. I never read the novels but I bet it goes into detail. They try to cover it in the movie they just don't have the time. She has the line,"You will always be that little boy on Tatooine." after he hits on her the first time. I just think due to the fact Lucas was worried about keeping the movie action packed and a fast pace the point wasn't conveyed well. Not to mention the fact they edit the family dinner scene in AOTC. I feel this should have been left in for two reasons. One, It shows Padme's feelings growing. Her family noticing and maybe even pushing. Second it makes the funeral scene have more depth. I couldn't agree more that women would tend to be put off if they were only to the point of considering thier feelings for a guy if he was as obsessive sounding as Anakin. Maybe some of the fault lies in the writing. It wasn't nessesary for him to be over

 

The outfit was a distraction in more ways that the obvious. If I wore that on a date(in the SW universe), it would indicate very clearly I was interested in a romatic relationship. But in this scene, Padme's words say the opposite of what her outfit is screaming. No wonder Anakin's confused.

IMO, Padme was "in love with being in love" in AOTC. Sometimes the idea of having a guy totally falling for you, and stating that very obviously, is very attractive. It masks many other traits, quirks, etc., that only become apparent later on. For Padme, she'd married before the bloom wa off the rose; when she wakes up to realities and complications of marriage to a person like Anakin, it's too late. When she says in the novel "don't do this again" to Anakin's questioning a Obi-Wan's visit to her apartement, I can hear a little of her realization of her husbands flaws.