She was, wasn’t she? I haven’t seen it in a long time, but I recall several scenes that implied that.
Which scenes then? I don’t remember anything other than her befriending a kid. If it wasn’t for AOTC no one would even question it.
Did she really even befriend him? All I remember is the scene where she makes fun of him for being a slave and he says “I’m a person and my name is Anakin!”
Yes she did. One example, he’s cold on the starship when flying to Coruscant and she gives him a blanket. He misses his mom and she comforts him.
She did it in an awkward and romantic way. I found the age difference inappropriate and petitioned for the film to be banned.
I sense a mix of truth and exaggeration in this post.
Regardless, given how long it’s apparently been since you’ve seen the film, you should watch that scene again and see if you actually feel that way or your memory of it is distorted. If the former, I’d argue you’re putting your own interpretation onto a scene that doesn’t contain what you say it does.
Funny, I now recall when I saw TPM in the theatre I was relatively spoiler-free and had no idea that Padme was supposed to be Luke and Leia’s mother, and therefore expected no connection between her and Anakin beyond childish friendship. It wasn’t until later watching a doco with a member of the crew, possibly Robin Gurland, commenting that she had worked to find an actress who could pass as Leia’s mother.
Somehow I’d managed to miss the Weird Al music video and the “I won’t always be” deleted scene that spell out Anakin’s feelings for Padme.
Even so, I still can’t see anything beyond innocent friendship in the final cut of the film.