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Movies / On DVD / Killing Me Softly
Killing Me Softly

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Killing Me Softly (2002)

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Reviews Counted:21

Fresh:0

Rotten:21

Average Rating:3.4/10

Consensus: Respected director Chen Kaige's first English-language film is a spectacularly misguided erotic thriller, with ludicrous plot twists and cringe-worthy dialogue.

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: A happy marriage and a comfortable job become meaningless diversions to Alice Loudon (Heather Graham) when a seductive stranger (Joseph Fiennes) enters her life. With smoldering good looks and an... A happy marriage and a comfortable job become meaningless diversions to Alice Loudon (Heather Graham) when a seductive stranger (Joseph Fiennes) enters her life. With smoldering good looks and an element of danger surrounding her, this stranger provides Alice with a sexual satisfaction she has never experienced before. When word of a serial killer reaches Alice, she suspects her mysterious lover of holding the knife. This elliptical, steamy thriller is directed by Chen Kaige (FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE) and boasts bold love scenes between the two leads. [More]

Starring: Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone, Ulrich Thomsen

Starring: Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone, Ulrich Thomsen, Ian Hart

Director: Chen Kaige

Director: Chen Kaige
Composer: Patrick Doyle

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Reviews for Killing Me Softly

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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The screenplay (based on Nicci French's novel) is cringeworthy, and Kaige's inability to spot when English-speaking thesps are reciting rather than acting produces scenes that vary from lifeless to laughable.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
08/03/09
Total Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A hilariously bad movie that has to be seen to be believed.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Inane and shopworn material with a truly cheesy final twist, this is made excruciating by direction that takes it all deadly seriously.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Spectacularly awful film that’s actually funnier than many so-called comedies.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Turkeys don't come plumper than this.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
07/11/02
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Fails so fundamentally on every conventional level that it achieves some kind of goofy grandeur.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
06/25/02
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

A risible drama, torpedoed by lifeless performances, a muddled screenplay and anonymous direction.

Full Review Source: FilmFour.com | comment Comment
06/25/02
FilmFour.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With miscast leads, banal dialogue and an absurdly overblown climax, Killing Me Softly belongs firmly in the so-bad-it's-good camp.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/10/02
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nothing about the story hangs together, the characters become increasingly stiff and unbelievable, and the incessant red herrings finally become too much to bear.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
05/05/02
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

As Graham attempts to uncover the truth about his past, the film grows increasingly convoluted, leading to a twist ending that will come as a surprise only to those who've never seen a Shannon Tweed movie.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
08/03/09
Nathan Rabin
Nathan Rabin
AV Club

Why, you might ask, is master director Chen Kaige wasting his time on such trashy material?

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/03/09
Robert Pardi
Robert Pardi
TV Guide's Movie Guide

What a disappointing waste of good talent!

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

A turgid erotic thriller that plays like Zalman King-meets-vintage Brian De Palma without the latter's wit or style.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/21/08
David Rooney
David Rooney
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's pretty campy-silly, but it's surprisingly watchable for some reason, maybe because of the name-brand actors sleazing it in this Skinemax would-be classic.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/06
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
10/21/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
10/11/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
09/21/05
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
International Press Academy

Though its rather routine script is loaded with familiar situations, the movie has a cinematic fluidity and sense of intelligence that makes it work more than it probably should.

Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | comment Comment
05/28/03
Jeremy Heilman
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
06/13/02
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

What a great shame that such a talented director as Chen Kaige has chosen to make his English-language debut with a film so poorly plotted and scripted.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
06/11/02
Mark Adams
Mark Adams
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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