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Killing Me Softly

Play trailer Poster for Killing Me Softly R 2002 1h 40m Mystery & Thriller Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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0% Tomatometer 21 Reviews 40% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A young American in London begins a passionate and kinky affair with a handsome stranger who may be a killer.
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Killing Me Softly

Killing Me Softly

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Critics Consensus

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

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Critics Reviews

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Nathan Rabin AV Club Aug 3, 2009
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. Go to Full Review David Rooney Variety May 21, 2008
A turgid erotic thriller that plays like Zalman King-meets-vintage Brian De Palma without the latter's wit or style. Go to Full Review Empire Magazine Dec 30, 2006
1/5
A hilariously bad movie that has to be seen to be believed. Go to Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Oct 9, 2020
3/10
More outrageous, perverse, and trivial than plausible or nerve-wracking. Go to Full Review Total Film Aug 3, 2009
1/5
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. Go to Full Review Robert Pardi TV Guide Aug 3, 2009
2/4
Why, you might ask, is master director Chen Kaige wasting his time on such trashy material? Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Clarice F. @clarice25 Nov 17, 2025 If it could be negative it would be -6. Not sure what we watched. See more Alain E @AlainE May 17, 2025 Sadly this has the subtlety of bad pulp fiction. At the 34 minute mark the alpiniste boyfriend essentially kills a pickpocket. Before that we were told that he was too distressed when seeing pictures of his dead girlfriend. If I was 11 I would have watched more, for another view of Heather Graham’s breasts and more brutality. See more Dem K @RT17861668 Jan 6, 2025 Perfect movie I loved it See more Marc Z @TKDLife Sep 4, 2023 This is an erotic thriller starring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes. It is seemingly low budget, despite the fact that it has a decent cast. It is sexually exciting and it does build from a romance to something more, in a way that is foreshadowed early on. The Direction is "B" at best. The script is the same. The eroticism is "A", despite it not being designed to be a soft core movie, per se. The strength, quite frankly, is the acting. Heather Graham is always watchable. Jospeh Fiennes, in any role, has gravitas and makes him very compelling to watch. I saw it on free tv, during a holiday weekend-so no complaints. See more Steve D @RT35616104 Feb 11, 2023 Sexy but not much else. See more Jun 27, 2020 Laughable dialogue and absurd plot. "Flows" just like an XXX rated movie edited for an "R" rating. Awful. Only the sex scenes are worth watching....just like an old, bad porn movie. I have never however, seen an old bad porn movie that wasn't better than this garbage in all respects. Embarrassing for all concerned. I wonder how this disaster escaped from the studio for public consumption. My wife hated it more than I did and she selected it. First time she has HATED a movie in a very long time. Unfortunately it is not so bad that it is funny. It just stinks. A time waster. Sorry if my opinion is somewhat vague. See more Read all reviews
Killing Me Softly

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Cast & Crew

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Chen Kaige

Director

Heather Graham

Alice

Joseph Fiennes

Adam

Natascha McElhone

Deborah

Ulrich Thomsen

Klaus

Ian Hart

Senior Police Officer

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Killing Me Softly

Joseph Fiennes and Heather Graham with director Kaige Chen on the set of MGM'S Killing Me Softly. Joseph Fiennes and Heather Graham in MGM'S Killing Me Softly. Joseph Fiennes in MGM'S Killing Me Softly. Joseph Fiennes and Heather Graham in MGM'S Killing Me Softly. Heather Graham in MGM'S Killing Me Softly. Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, and Natascha McElhone in MGM'S Killing Me Softly. Joseph Fiennes and Heather Graham in MGM'S Killing Me Softly. Joseph Fiennes and Heather Graham in MGM'S Killing Me Softly. View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A young American in London begins a passionate and kinky affair with a handsome stranger who may be a killer.
Director
Chen Kaige
Producer
Joe Medjuck, Lynda Myles, Michael Chinich
Screenwriter
Kara Lindstrom, Nicci French
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Noelle Entertainment Limited, Montecito Picture Company
Rating
R (Some Violence|Language|Strong Sexuality)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 10, 2002, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 16, 2008
Runtime
1h 40m
Sound Mix
Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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