Take me Home!

Cinema TimesOut this weekComing soonCompetitionsFeaturesCinema Times
NewsLinksThe MagazineeBay AuctionsTrailersBookmark UsContact Unreel

Killing Me Softly
Release Date: 14th June 2002
Distributor: Pathe
Certificate: 18
Starring: Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone, Helen Grace, Ian Hart, Jason Hughes
Director: Chen Kaige
Running Time: 100 minutes

From the very moment that Alice (Heather Graham) locks eyes with Adam (Joseph Fiennes), a mysterious stranger, she is catapulted into a whirlwind of intense erotic desire and adventure, risking everything just to be with him. But, when secrets from Adam's past begin to surface, Alice finds herself in a bizarre situation she can't escape. This is acclaimed director Chen Kaige's first English-language film, and he directs this contemporary suspense thriller. Based upon a novel by Nicci French.
Heather Graham plays Alice, a research scientist living in London. Although she is quite comfortable with her job, her house and her man (Hughes), there is a little bit of her that wants more.
Meeting the darkly brooding Adam (Fiennes), a mountaineer with a powerful physical presence, she realises that there is more to life than just keeping the status quo... she wants some action.
Incredibly attracted to Adam, she is soon back at his place making mad, passionate love on his kitchen table And within days she has left her boyfriend to marry this mysterious new man.
But soon strange things start to happen, as Alice begins to receive anonymous notes warning her about her new love. And although she is still desperately in love with him, some of Adam's behaviour begins to strike her as a little odd. Why for instance has Adam got a cupboard with a huge padlock on it? And what about Adam's thing for tying long pieces of cloth around her neck while they are making love? And as Alice starts to dig around in Adam's past strange and worrying things start to emerge…
'Killing Me Softly' is a bit of a disappointment. Director Chen Kaige's first western film is not the same as rustic, wind-swept and emotionally simple Chinese films. It seems that the moment he starts working with a larger cast, and placing events in a modern city, his films lose their appeal. Still anyone who likes Heather Graham will be in the front row for this one - and there's even Mr Fiennes for the ladies. Check it out, but don't expect too much.