Killing Me Softly (film)

Last updated
Killing Me Softly
Killing Me Softly (film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Chen Kaige
Written by
Based on Killing Me Softly
by Nicci French
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Michael Coulter
Edited byJon Gregory
Music by Patrick Doyle
Production
company
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (United States)
Pathé Distribution (United Kingdom) [1]
Release date
  • June 21, 2002 (2002-06-21)
Running time
100 minutes
Countries
  • United States [2]
  • United Kingdom [2]
LanguageEnglish
Box office$7.8 million

Killing Me Softly is a 2002 erotic thriller film directed by Chen Kaige and starring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes. Based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Nicci French, it introduces several substantial changes to the story and focuses heavily on the intense sexual relationship between the two lead characters. It is Chen's only English-language film to date.

Contents

Plot

Alice is a young American woman living in London who believes she is happy in a secure job and a relationship with her boyfriend. After a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger, she seeks him out, taking a taxi with him to his house and having passionate sex. She returns home to her boyfriend and unsuccessfully attempts to bring out the same feelings between them that she had with the strange man.

The following day she seeks the stranger out again, discovering his name is Adam - a mountain climber who is considered a hero after saving six people in a tragic event that killed several others, including the woman he loved. Alice leaves her boyfriend and begins a relationship with Adam, although her friend shows reservations about Alice being in such a sudden relationship. When Alice is mugged on the street, Adam beats the thief terribly, and then asks Alice to marry him, a proposal she happily accepts. For their honeymoon, he takes her to a secluded cabin.

The newlyweds settle into their new life, but Alice is troubled by a series of mysterious letters and phone calls, and begins to wonder about her husband's mysterious past. A reporter who did a story on Adam sends her a copy of a letter from a woman claiming Adam raped her. Alice interviews her, posing as a journalist. Disturbed by the fact that she barely knows her new husband, she begins to go through their apartment, becoming even more alarmed when she searches a locked wardrobe and finds a box of old letters from an ex-lover, Adele, who insists she and Adam end their affair. Adam begins to question Alice more about her activities, including where she got a necklace that she received from his sister, Deborah.

Soon after, Alice receives yet another warning. Following the trail, she discovers that Adele has been missing for eight months. She also finds a picture of Adele at the same cabin where she and Adam honeymooned. She realizes she doesn't feel safe with him and runs to the police. She tells her story, insisting they reopen Adele's missing persons case, but they can't do anything without any evidence, telling her they can only keep him for a few hours. Alice seeks help from Deborah, telling her she believes Adam killed Adele for leaving him and buried her at the cabin. On the way to the cabin, Deborah admits that she was the one who sent the messages to Alice, because she wanted to save her from Adam's violent rages. When Adam returns home from the police station, he finds that Alice was there and left the two pictures, and realizes she must have gone to the cemetery.

At the cemetery, Alice discovers a body buried in the dirt, wearing the same necklace that Deborah gave her. Deborah tells her that Adele didn't have to die, if only she had told her she was going back to her husband. Deborah revealed that she had sex with Adam when he was 15 years old, resulting in her subsequent obsession with her own brother and need to rid his life of any other woman. She tries to kill Alice, but Adam appears in time and saves her. Furious, Deborah tries to kill him but is stopped short by Alice, who shoots her with a flare pistol.

Adam tells Alice that he and his sister used to come to the cabin together, but that he thought that if Alice just trusted him, then everything would be alright. Adam is led away by police that morning.

Two years later, Alice and Adam see one another again on either side of an escalator - she's going down and he's riding up. They both watch each other as they pass without saying anything. Adam stops at the top and turns to stare back at Alice before walking away. The film ends with Alice's voiceover recalling the events in posterity and wondering what might have happened had fate not led her to Adam one morning. She wonders if the passion between them could ever have lasted, and if a "flatlander" like her could ever have stayed at such a high altitude.

Cast

Production

Filming commenced on October 29, 2000, and was mostly based in or around London and Cumbria, England.[ citation needed ] Filming also took place in Matterdale, near Penrith. [3]

Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes spent seven days in bed filming the sex scenes, where Graham refused to wear a 'modesty pouch'. [4]

Release

Killing Me Softly was released on June 21, 2002, in the UK. [5] MGM initially planned a 2002 wide release in the US, [6] but this was cancelled in favor of a direct-to-DVD launch on March 25, 2003. [7] Variety later characterized the film's international release as "a painful failure". [8] On August 13, 2013, Shout! Factory released Killing Me Softly on Blu-ray along with The Hot Spot as part of a double feature. [9]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 0% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 3.39/10. The site's consensus is: "Respected director Chen Kaige's first English-language film is a spectacularly misguided erotic thriller, with ludicrous plot twists and cringe-worthy dialogue". [10] In 2009, the site also rated it #12 on the countdown of the worst films over the last 10 years.[ citation needed ]

David Rooney of Variety called it: "A turgid erotic thriller that plays like Zalman King-meets-vintage Brian De Palma without the latter's wit or style". [11] [12] Empire called it "the funniest movie of the year so far". [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Graham</span> American actress (born 1970)

Heather Joan Graham is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy License to Drive (1988), followed by the critically acclaimed film Drugstore Cowboy (1989). She then played supporting roles on the television series Twin Peaks (1991), and in films such as Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and Swingers (1996). She gained critical praise for her role as "Rollergirl" in the film Boogie Nights (1997). This led to major roles in the comedy films Bowfinger and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chen Kaige</span> Chinese film director and screenwriter

Chen Kaige is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema. His films are known for their visual flair and epic storytelling. Chen won the Palme d'Or at 1993 Cannes Film Festival and the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award in 1993 for directing Farewell My Concubine.

<i>In the Cut</i> (film) 2003 film by Jane Campion

In the Cut is a 2003 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Jane Campion and starring Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kevin Bacon. Campion's screenplay is an adaptation of the 1995 novel of the same name by Susanna Moore. The film focuses on an English teacher who becomes personally entangled with a detective investigating a series of gruesome murders in her Manhattan neighborhood.

<i>Bitter Moon</i> 1992 film

Bitter Moon is a 1992 erotic romantic thriller film directed by Roman Polanski and starring Peter Coyote, Emmanuelle Seigner, Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott Thomas. The film's French title is Lunes de fiel. It is based on the novel Lunes de fiel by the French author Pascal Bruckner, published in English as Evil Angels. The score was composed by Vangelis.

<i>Strange Days</i> (film) 1995 science fiction thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Strange Days is a 1995 American science fiction thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, from a screenplay by James Cameron and Jay Cocks, and based on a story by Cameron. The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Michael Wincott, and Vincent D'Onofrio. Set in Los Angeles on the last two days of 1999, the film follows Lenny Nero (Fiennes), a black marketeer of an electronic device that allows a user to experience the recorded memories and physical sensations of other people, and Lornette "Mace" Mason (Bassett), a bodyguard and limousine driver, as they are drawn into a criminal conspiracy involving Nero's ex-girlfriend Faith Justin (Lewis) and the murder of a prostitute.

Killing Me Softly may refer to:

<i>Abandon</i> (film) 2002 American film

Abandon is a 2002 American psychological thriller drama film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan in his directorial debut. It stars Katie Holmes as a college student whose boyfriend disappeared two years previously. Despite being set at an American university, much of the movie was filmed in Canada at McGill University's McConnell Hall. It is based on the book Adams Fall by Sean Desmond. The book was re-titled Abandon for the movie tie-in paperback printing. The film co-stars Zooey Deschanel, Gabrielle Union and Melanie Lynskey, with Benjamin Bratt playing the detective investigating the boyfriend's disappearance. It received generally negative reviews.

<i>Final Analysis</i> 1992 film by Phil Joanou

Final Analysis is a 1992 American neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Phil Joanou and written by Wesley Strick from a concept by forensic psychiatrist Robert H. Berger. It stars Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman, Eric Roberts, Keith David, and Paul Guilfoyle. The executive producers were Gere and Maggie Wilde. The film received mixed critical reviews, but was positively compared to the works of Alfred Hitchcock, particularly Vertigo. It was the final film of director of photography Jordan Cronenweth.

<i>Never Talk to Strangers</i> 1995 film

Never Talk to Strangers is a 1995 erotic thriller film directed by Peter Hall and starring Antonio Banderas and Rebecca De Mornay.

<i>The End of the Affair</i> (1999 film) 1999 film by Neil Jordan

The End of the Affair is a 1999 romantic drama film written and directed by Neil Jordan and starring Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore and Stephen Rea.

Criminal Lovers is a 1999 psychological thriller and horror film by French director François Ozon. In fact, it is a modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel.

<i>No Place to Hide</i> (1981 film) American TV series or program

No Place to Hide is a 1981 made-for-TV psychological thriller directed by John Llewellyn Moxey. The film is based on an unpublished story by Harriet Steinberg, and stars Mariette Hartley, Kathleen Beller and Keir Dullea.

<i>Killing Me Softly</i> (novel)

Killing Me Softly is a psychological thriller by writing team Nicci French from 1999.

<i>Cannibal</i> (2013 film) 2013 film

Cannibal is a 2013 thriller film directed by Manuel Martín Cuenca. It was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. An international co-production among companies from Spain, Romania, Russia and France, the film was produced by La Loma Blanca PC, MOD Producciones, Libra Film, CTB Film Company LTD and Luminor. Penned by Martín Cuenca and Alejandro Hernández, the screenplay is inspired by Humberto Arenal's novel Caríbal.

<i>The Invitation</i> (2015 film) 2015 American film

The Invitation is a 2015 American horror thriller film directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. The film stars Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman, and Emayatzy Corinealdi. The Invitation premiered March 13, 2015, at the SXSW film festival, and began a limited release on April 8, 2016, and through video on demand, by Drafthouse Films.

<i>Misconduct</i> (film) 2016 film

Misconduct is a 2016 American thriller film directed by Shintaro Shimosawa in his directorial debut and written by Simon Boyes and Adam Mason. The film stars Josh Duhamel, Alice Eve, Malin Åkerman, Byung-hun Lee, Julia Stiles, Glen Powell, with Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins. The film was released in a limited release and through video on demand on February 5, 2016, by Lionsgate Premiere.

<i>Mind Twister</i> 1994 American film

Mind Twister is a 1994 American erotic thriller film directed by Fred Olen Ray, written by Mark Thomas McGee, and produced by Luigi Cingolani and Smart Egg Pictures.

<i>Gemini</i> (2017 film) 2017 American film

Gemini is a 2017 American mystery thriller film written, directed and edited by Aaron Katz. It stars Lola Kirke, Zoë Kravitz, Greta Lee, Nelson Franklin, Reeve Carney, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Ricki Lake, and John Cho. The plot follows the assistant of a Hollywood actress who must clear her name after her starlet boss is found murdered in her home.

<i>The Silencing</i> 2020 American action-thriller film directed by Robin Pront

The Silencing is a 2020 American-Canadian action-thriller film directed by Robin Pront from a screenplay by Micah Ranum. It stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Annabelle Wallis. The film is about a hunter and a sheriff who track down a murderer who may have kidnapped the hunter's daughter years before.

<i>Sator</i> (film) 2019 American film

Sator is a 2019 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Jordan Graham and starring Michael Daniel, Rachel Johnson, Aurora Lowe, Gabriel Nicholson and June Peterson.

References

  1. ↑ "Killing Me Softly (2001)". BBFC . Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Killing Me Softly (2002)". British Film Institute . Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  3. ↑ "Your chance to appear on the big screen …". Cumberland & Westmorland Herald . 14 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-02-14.
  4. ↑ "Recipe for disaster". www.theguardian.com. 31 May 2002. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "Killing Me Softly (2002)". BBC Online . June 18, 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  6. ↑ Harris, Dana (July 30, 2001). "MGM moves 'Softly' to Jan". Variety . Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  7. ↑ "Killing Me Softly". IGN . January 4, 2003. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  8. ↑ Gaydos, Steven (January 12, 2003). "Directors bask in Hollywood spotlight". Variety . Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  9. ↑ "The Hot Spot / Killing Me Softly". The Dissolve. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  10. ↑ "Killing Me Softly (2003)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  11. ↑ Rooney, David (18 March 2002). "Killing Me Softly". Variety .
  12. ↑ "BBC - Films - review - Killing Me Softly". bbc.co.uk.
  13. ↑ Jo Berry (20 June 2002). "Killing Me Softly. Hilariously bad erotic-thriller with Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes". Empire .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.