Padmé Amidala

Padmé Amidala (, ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. She first appeared in the 1999 film ''The Phantom Menace'' as the teenage queen of the fictional planet Naboo. In the following two films of the prequel trilogy, Padmé becomes a member of the Galactic Senate and secretly marries Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight. Anakin's fear of losing Padmé drives him toward the dark side of the Force, which results in his transformation into Darth Vader. Padmé eventually dies after giving birth to the twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Natalie Portman portrays Padmé in all three prequel films. In addition to films, Padmé appears in animated series, novels, comics and video games.

Creation

Padmé is introduced in ''The Phantom Menace'' (1999), the first film of the prequel trilogy. She is mentioned briefly, however, in the 1983 film ''Return of the Jedi'', the final film of the original trilogy. In the film, Leia tells Luke that she has faint memories of her mother. Lucas has explained that although he created a backstory for the mother while writing the original trilogy, it did not make it into the films. He wanted her to be mentioned in ''Return of the Jedi'', however, because he was planning on introducing her as a main character in later films. When Lucas began writing ''The Phantom Menace'', he envisioned similarities between Padmé and Leia, who he described as "the daughter who follows so closely in her other'sfootsteps."

Portrayal

Casting

During development for ''The Phantom Menace'', concept artists were given character outlines by Lucasfilm. The fourteen-year-old Padmé was described as similar to Princess Ozma from the ''Land of Oz'' series of novels. Lucas, who both wrote and directed the film, wanted to cast a performer who displayed strength comparable to that of Leia, who is a central character in the original trilogy. The filmmakers auditioned over two hundred actresses for the role before selecting Natalie Portman, who was eighteen at the time. One of the concept artists, Iain McCaig, said Portman exhibited vulnerability and strength akin to Ozma.

Portman was enthusiastic about the role, and thought it would be empowering for young female viewers to witness the intelligence and leadership abilities of the teenage monarch. She worked closely with Lucas on her character's accent and mannerisms, and watched the films of Lauren Bacall, Audrey Hepburn, and Katharine Hepburn to draw inspiration from their voice and stature. She was relatively unfamiliar with the ''Star Wars'' franchise when she was cast, and watched the original trilogy before filming began.

Costumes

Lucas has explained that galactic society in the prequel trilogy is more sophisticated than in the original trilogy. To illustrate this difference, the costumes in the prequels are more elaborate than those in the earlier films. Trisha Biggar, the costume designer for the prequel films, said there were only three costumes initially planned for Padmé. However, Lucas felt that a noble of her stature would be constantly changing her wardrobe depending on the occasion. He decided that every time the queen appeared in ''The Phantom Menace'', she would be wearing a different costume. The resulting wardrobe was influenced by fashions from Japan, Mongolia, Tibet and other countries.Costume Featurette (1999). ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' Special Features DVD. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. For ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002), Lucas wanted Padmé's garb to reflect the romantic storyline. He requested that her costumes be "skimpy" and "sultry". Padmé's garments were displayed at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles in 2005, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 2018.

Reception

Portman's performance in the prequel films was criticized in a number of reviews. James Berardinelli called her acting in ''The Phantom Menace'' "lackluster," while Annlee Ellingson of '' Box Office Magazine'' said her delivery was "stiff and flat, perhaps hindered by the gorgeous but cumbersome costumes." In his review of ''Attack of the Clones'', Mike Clark of ''USA Today'' complained about the performances of both Portman and Hayden Christensen, who portrays Anakin Skywalker. He wrote, "Both speak in monotone for doubly deadly effect, though when not burdened by his co-star, Christensen often finds the emotion in his limited intonations." Reviewing ''Revenge of the Sith'', Ed Halter of ''The Village Voice'' said that "computer-generated characters like wheezing cyborg

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases