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Post #168528

Author
MTHaslett
Parent topic
Episode II: Shroud of the Dark Side (the TM edit) (Released)
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/168528/action/topic#168528
Date created
7-Jan-2006, 5:13 PM
Commander Courage: I think the order of Padme's family scene should be: Arrival, Dinner, Kitchen, Room. Maybe even delete the room scene all together. Portman's delivery is especially flat there, and there's no real appeal to the scene. The "you die if you're unable to adapt" message of course, but still I think it might be best if it was jettisoned. Also putting it before the dinner scene makes little sense as that's when they first talk to the family (at dinner). Surely they would have done so previously on the way to her room. I hope I'm making sense.
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Reading your notes, Commander, I had to reiterate my suggestions for this sequence -- the problem with this movie is how forced an unnatural the romance feels. Any chance to create a sense of maturity and adult connection between these two needs to be taken advantage of.

The bedroom scene coming after the family stuff feels unnatural-- what are they doing? Packing. Why? To move on to the next sequence-- it's just convenient business for their dialogue -- which, coming after dinner, has no story value since the family sequence is already over.

But when you return home to pick something up, do you wait until you're about to leave to get it? Or do you pick it up first? Make sure you don't forget? It's more natural and mature for Padme to show Anakin around by herself-- revealing things about herself BEFORE he meets her family. Then the dinner scene can have subtext: he knows her better now, he knows something about her family life now. Now meeting the parents has weight.

The appeal of the scene is that it's a window into Padme. Unfortunately it has no subtext on its own. It cannot work after dinner. But, looking at real human behavior, it works fine before dinner and adds subtext to the otherwise flat dinner scene.