A young American woman living in London begins a passionate and kinky affair with a handsome stranger who may have a dark and dangerous past.A young American woman living in London begins a passionate and kinky affair with a handsome stranger who may have a dark and dangerous past.A young American woman living in London begins a passionate and kinky affair with a handsome stranger who may have a dark and dangerous past.
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe main reason Kaige Chen was keen to make the film was because he would never have been allowed to do so in his native China owing to all the sexual content.
- GoofsAlice's bra is alternately on/off between shots during the love-making scene in the library.
- Quotes
Sylvie: You had somebody who loved you. You loved each other and you let him go for good sex. Love isn't just a good fuck, you know?
Alice: This is more.
Sylvie: More what?
Alice: More everything. When I'm with him, everything is more.
Sylvie: Oh, God, Alice. You could write greetings cards. You really bloody could.
- Alternate versionsUS theatrical version was edited for sexuality to secure a R rating. The film was released on DVD & video in both its censored and unrated version.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Making of 'Killing Me Softly' (2003)
Featured review
Future Camp Classic
I rented and watched KILLING ME SOFTLY on DVD and giggled throughout the movie. It's so unintentionally funny, and silly and stupid and pointless, that I'm sure people in the near future will look back at this as camp. The film stars Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes. Heather's character goes though a number of things or does things that are totally divorced from logic. She marries a man she hardly knows and the rest of the film is spent on her trying to know her husband's suspicious past. (If Heather's character had tried to get to know him first before marrying him there wouldn't have been a movie). Heather's role is funny and oddly endearing at the same time. She tries so hard but the whole thing is so silly that her efforts are all for naught. In EVERY scene, Heather is seen with her big doe-like eyes, dropping her clothes at any given moment, looking totally befuddled. The scene when the reporter faxes her the strange messages at her office, which is supposed to be filled with apprehension, is very funny. As is the scene when Heather pretends to be a reporter from The Guardian. Or the scene when Joseph ties her down on the kitchen table, which is simply priceless. Heather, bound to the table, doesn't look terrified or stressed, she looks bored and annoyed. The entire scene is truly out of this world. After seeing it, I wondered "What was that all about?" If your new husband ties you up on the kitchen table and starts going crazy, well, there's a good chance that the marriage won't last long. As for Joseph Fiennes, well, he looks, hmm, weird. I think the director was intimidated by Joseph. It seems the director didn't know how to film him at all. And because of this, his character/performance is WAY over-the-top.
The story (or lack thereof) is so obvious, the moment the "villain" appears on screen I knew it. The revelation of the villain's motives made me laugh out loud. It's supposed to be shocking and twisted but it had me in hysterics. Add to this the fact that the director literally took the meaning of title and applied this to the film's script/action, and everything about this film ends up looking truly silly. Everything is treated just so softly (like when Heather is tied to the table). Imagine a S&M movie directed with the soft touch of a bunny rabbit.
Many scenes look like they were rushed (the mountain climbing scenes). In one scene, you can see Fiennes looking straight at the camera for a split second. The direction is not really good. The look of the film is sometimes interesting. Some scenes where cool but the whole ultra-hip look of the film will positively date it in a matter of years. The office where Heather works looks like a place where the Teletubies would feel at home. Everything about KILLING ME SOFTLY is hilarious. It's pure camp.
The story (or lack thereof) is so obvious, the moment the "villain" appears on screen I knew it. The revelation of the villain's motives made me laugh out loud. It's supposed to be shocking and twisted but it had me in hysterics. Add to this the fact that the director literally took the meaning of title and applied this to the film's script/action, and everything about this film ends up looking truly silly. Everything is treated just so softly (like when Heather is tied to the table). Imagine a S&M movie directed with the soft touch of a bunny rabbit.
Many scenes look like they were rushed (the mountain climbing scenes). In one scene, you can see Fiennes looking straight at the camera for a split second. The direction is not really good. The look of the film is sometimes interesting. Some scenes where cool but the whole ultra-hip look of the film will positively date it in a matter of years. The office where Heather works looks like a place where the Teletubies would feel at home. Everything about KILLING ME SOFTLY is hilarious. It's pure camp.
Helpful•9436
- Maciste_Brother
- May 7, 2003
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Đam Mê Chết Người
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $7,775,138
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![Joseph Fiennes and Heather Graham in Killing Me Softly (2002)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYjlmMWU5ZTQtODlmOC00YTA1LWI5YWYtYjU0NGI1ZTc0NjBhXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,1,90,133_.jpg)