Rating: 
Summary: Killing Me Softly (2001, MGM; a Chen Kaige film)
Review: "Killing Me Softly" is made in the same sense and it's remeniscent of "Unfaithful". However, it was made a year before "Unfaithful". "Killing Me Softly" is a lot more graphic, sexually and violently, than "Unfaithful" and the story is much more better. The only thing unpleasant about this film is that Heather Graham's performance is very serious during the sex scenes and when she encounters tragedy. Otherwise, she's usually her "normal acting" self.Heather Graham plays as an American in London who abandons her long-time boyfriend for a handsome, "sensitive" guy (played by Joseph Fiennes) who has great sex, who later on wants to marry the woman and he also has a nasty past and dark, nasty secrets. Unlike "Unfaithful" where an older female who is married with a family of her own cheats on her husband for a younger man who has a lot to offer her while her husband finds out and it turns him sick and brokendown, in "Killing Me Softly", Heather Graham's character left her boyfriend for a guy who does not only give her the best sex and will stop at nothing to defend her (including killing a guy for her defense in front of her, and brutally), but he is also mysterious, he is a closet rapist and without love in his life, he'd completely torture himself. Chen Kaige has done projects like "Temptress Moon" and "Farewell, My Concubine" (both staring the late legendary Leslie Cheung who died in the spring of 2003). While "Killing Me Softly" is filled with strong sexual images, romantic-tragedy cliches, the-affair-with-the-foreigner cliches and a storyline about a person who lusts for guilty pleasures, it is not at all a masterpiece. However, a lover of erotic or erotic-art movies will definitely appreciate this movie. As a lover of erotic movies and art movies myself, I have seen much better films that are not only sexual, but they are lively, they make sense and the stories and acting is great without cliches. If I could give this movie a 3 and a half, I would! It was a very decent movie; especially from Chen Kaige. Heather Graham is a beautiful actress who is evolving her talent. Still, it seems even though she should work on her capabilities to play a more serious role!
Rating: 
Summary: Considering the Talent Involved, the Film is Disappointing
Review: "Killing Me Softly" is not that Roberta Flack song Hugh Grant sang on stage in "About a Boy." It is the film version of thriller of the same name written by Nicci French (a pen name of husband-wife team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French). But what is most attractive is not the origin of the film; it is the first English-speaking film by the critically acclaimed Chinese director Chen Kaige, known for his masterpieces like "Farewell My Concubine" and "Yellow Earth." And this thriller set in modern London stars Heather Graham and Jeseph Fiennes (credits in that order), plus Natascha Richardson ("Ronin") and special appearance of Ian Hart (the first "Harry Potter") . So, you ask me, why should I give only two stars? Wait a minute, please, but I tell you the story first. Heather Graham is Alice, an American, living in London for 18 months and working as a web site designer there. She has an English boyfriend (who watches football games on TV), but one morning on her way to office she meets Joseph Fiennes's world-famous mountain climber Adam when Alice accidentally touches his hand, waiting for the signal on the street. She instantly falls in love with him madly; even in her office she cannot shake off his image; and finally she follows him, goes to his house, and just wants him. All these things happen in about 5 hours of a day. And they get married. But soon Alice learns that she does not know anything about his past, not surprisingly. Then, anonymous letters warning her about him start to come. Then, Alice begins to suspect that Adam, behind his wild character, is trying to hide some horrible secret that might be connected with the terrible accident that happened on the mountain. Or, is that really an accident? OK. This is a thriller which uses a premise: "Can you trust your husband?" Yes, once Hitchcock did it (the title should remain unnamed, but you might remember that breathtaking car-running-by-the-cliff scene). For the reasons below, "Killing Me Softly" never achieves that height. The film is thrill-free, and is saddled with incredible plot and creaky dialogues. I don't like to talk like this especially when I like Heather Graham very much, but before I write this review, I checked it on video, and sorry, but I cannot still change my mind. (I am a Japanese, and was lucky to see the film earlier than many people in the world as the film was theatrically released here in Feb. 2002, one year before American release). Yes, thrill is gone. What happened? Joseph Fiennes does his best, so does Heather Graham, but there is no chemistry between them that might make us believe in their love-turns-fear relation. Furthermore, the director Chen Kaige is too intent on portraying the sex scenes of them, many of them describing ... how do you say in English ... a sort of kinky stuff. (So, if you really want to see my point, see the unrated version.) Besides, what can we audience do but giggle when we see usually great Fiennes holds a poor panting goldfish on his palm, to illustrate the lack of oxygen up among the high mountains? Or when Heather is mugged in the street of London, robbed of her bag, and Fiennes chases the robber desperately, hits the guys's head against the telephone booth (breaking the glass), and beats the hapless criminal (but which?) to the pulp? And see what they would do after that (I keep that part secret for you). In short, everything is too unbelievable, even by the standard of melodrama or potboiler. There is, however, some good points about the film. The photography is very beautiful, capturing the lively feelings of the streets of London, and it is no so-called "postcard" beauty. British photographer Micheal Coulter is famous for his works like "Four Weddings and a Funeral" "Notting Hill," and "Sense and Sensibility" and his London is strangely other-worldly feeling, I mean, totally different London. The film is always stylish, and the soundtrack is by Patrick Doyle even though his music (good itself) tends to hammer as if to instruct us what to feel. It is cruel to say this, I know, but "Killing Me Softly" is, considering the talent involved, a great disappointment. The film may gain a cult status, and if you ask me whether I like it or not, I say I like it. But will I recommend this to my friends? No. One last curious thing; one of the executive-producers is Ivan Reitman ("Evolution" "Twins" and others).
Rating: 
Summary: Erotic & Romantic Thriller
Review: "We spend our lives searching for our other half, you're it." ~Adam The suspense in this movie is brilliantly woven into a steamy romance. When Alice (Heather Graham) looks into world-famous mountain climber Adam's (Joseph Fiennes) eyes, she feels his chemistry. Soon she learns that he climbs mountains and is equally qualified to take her to the heights of her passion. While watching this movie, the viewer is convinced of all sorts of fallacies which later turn out to be incompletely insignificant. I did love the element of uncertainty. Alice is wandering around in "Wondering about her Husband Land" while Adam has no idea that those closest to him are rather psychotic. There are so many scenes which just burst with creativity in this movie. I love the scenes where Alice is wandering around in the snow and then Adam suddenly appears. He suddenly appears a lot in this movie and is presented as a violent man. They do keep his character from getting too creepy but play up his "I want to control a woman" aspects. I think it is almost that he wants a woman to trust him so much, he plays games with her heart. This is really a tale of passionate love. It is about living on the edge and not being afraid to fall off the cliff of desire. It is about allowing yourself to need someone and allowing yourself to trust someone. I did have to laugh at one point when I saw Alice in MY ROBE. I could tell it was the same robe because the texture and the color where exactly the same. How amusing. Alice spends a lot of time in robes and coats and boots. She always looks so loveable and cozy. The black skirt and white shirt tied at her waist was also rather sexy. There is a scene where Alice talks about princesses and dragons and there is even a castle in this movie. The entire movie is presented from the woman's perspective and they do try to present this story as "Alice's Adventure." Yes, the dragon definitely gets the princess. Alice wants to be controlled on some level, it seems to excite her mind. She really spends most of the movie trying to solve the mystery of her marriage than worrying that her husband is a dragon. I loved it when Adam said: "Will you think about me today?" The suspense when he says: "Do you Trust Me" is almost unbearable. We imagine the worst. The letters that keep arriving also keep us on the edge. I did get a bit worried about the goldfish, but fortunately it was put back into the bowl. It was a bit of a Dr. Suess moment. The cat is also a bit creepy in this movie. This is a tale of obsessive love where both characters seem equally obsessed and this causes the fires of their passion to burn like an untamable fire. There are scenes of the woods and London and it really does take you out of your ordinary existence. The suspense in this movie was the reason I really loved it. If you enjoyed "Fatal Attraction," "Memento," "Unfaithful" or even "Secretary," then you will probably be adding this movie to your list of suspenseful favorites. This is however another "NC-17" movie dancing around "unrated." It seems directors and distributors are pushing the rating systems to the limit or don't give a care about viewers who want to know what they will be watching. It would be nice to know what you are going to watch, before you get involved in the story and want to keep watching. I'd like to see less of the flesh and more of the creativity this movie offers. Give us romance, yes! We women love it. This movie is very "romantic."
Rating: 
Summary: about the movie killing me softly......
Review: .. Recommended purchase for those whom are interested to collect this genre of movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Lucky old you
Review: All I want to say is that the Amazon movie watcher who couldn't get this disc to play in their machine was very VERY lucky ! Absolutely dire movie, so bad in all respects that it was almost good. AVOID.
Rating:
Summary: Run Now!!!
Review: Although I'm not a member of the Heather Graham fan club I was willing to give Joseph Fiennes another whirl after his utterly sweet performance in "Shakespeare in Love", sadly I could only laugh at this drivel that wishes to mascarade as "noir" and it isn't even grey. The dialogue must have been rescued from the waste basket of a B movie writer reject. As for satisfying our prurient desires it doesn't rise to the occasion what with the high school amateur acting, ridiculous and predictable plot ... you get my drift. Watch The Weather Channel instead.
Rating:
Summary: Boring Me Softly
Review: Appropriate title for a real sleeper. A soft-porn film whose efforts to ascend at being a thriller are so weak that it dashes down to the bottom in the first half-hour. The story is so utterly superficial and psuedo-intellectual that you will fall asleep even with the filler erotic scenes. The movie seeks to capture the theme of an unaroused woman who seeks a more exciting man in her life and encounters a writer-mountain climber to fill her passions. She soon feels that she got more than than she bargained for which is certainly not how you will feel watching this movie. The story is capricious and pretentious, the script is tedious, while the acting is as devoid of all emotion as a Kevin Costner monologue. The actor playing the adventurous mountain climber seems to be too bored with life to even bother remembering his role or utter a single passionate line. Dont't waste your time or money on this one, it will kill you softly without a doubt.
Rating:
Summary: Boring Me Softly
Review: Appropriate title for a real sleeper. This attempt at presenting an erotic thriller has more climax in its sex scenes than real suspense. The film amounts to being nothing more than a disengaged soft-porn film. The story is so utterly superficial and psuedo-intellectual that you will fall asleep even with these filler erotic scenes.
The movie seeks to capture the theme of an unaroused woman who seeks a more exciting man in her life and encounters a writer-mountain climber to fill her passions. She soon feels that she got more than than she bargained for which is certainly not how you will feel watching this movie.
The story is capricious and pretentious, the script is tedious, while the acting is as devoid of all emotion as a Kevin Costner monologue. The actor playing the adventurous mountain climber seems to be too bored with life to even bother remembering his role or utter a single passionate line.
Don't waste your time or money on this one, it will kill you softly without a doubt.
Rating:
Summary: partly entertaining
Review: Both actors didn't catch much of my attention. The story was the usual "man tricks woman in" story. I thought that you could guess most of the movie, so there wasn't much surprise. I haven't read Nicci French's book to tell how close this movie was to the expectation that the book might have given. The movie was ok but not particularly great.
Rating:
Summary: NUDITY OVERPOWERS ALL
Review: Boy, does Heather Graham have a great pair of mammary glands. The rest of her body is in no bad shape either. Unfortunately, a naked Heather Graham has the tendency to over power the content of this film. Much like J.D. Salinger's use of profanity in Catch In The Rye diverted his readers' attention away from the actual story so it is here. Which is too bad because this is an interesting suspense story. I should have seen the twist coming a mile away; but I didn't and neither did others I have discussed this movie with. But no matter. This film is condemned to be remembered for a smiling Heather Graham with her naked breasts.
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