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Alice (Heather Graham) an American in London, has an interesting job and is living happily with
her boyfriend. One day at a street crossing, she sees Adam across the street. Their eyes meet and an electrifying attraction overcomes them. Right away, they begin a very
physical relationship. This escalates in intensity to the extent that Alice gives up her perfectly normal boyfriend, neglects her job and disrupts her daily routine. She is
all for the enigmatic and reticent Adam who carries a sense of mystery and a touch of violence about him. She pries into his things because he refuses to talk about himself.
Then she begins to receive a series of anonymous notes making insinuations, warning her about him. Should she continue her search for information? Or should she trust him, as
he wants her to?
Killing Me Softly combines a love story and a psychological thriller. From the first meeting on a bright and sunny day the story of Alice
and Adam progresses into the shadow of mistrust and suspicions. Joseph Fiennes is very good as the mysterious and brooding mountaineer. Heather Graham and Natascha McElhone
match his character adequately. The combination of the music and moments of suspenseful silence easily builds the expectation of the audience. However, for some viewers these
moments could be too many to sustain suspense; in fact they are a let down.
Killing Me Softly is a film about sex. It projects the impression that when a relationship is purely physical, based on sex as portrayed in
the movie, is bound to fail. Love can only grow when two people begin to know each other better. Otherwise, what is felt—including love-at-first-sight—is only physical
attraction. Although the number of sex scenes, shown in quick shots, is within the context of the story, their nature calls for mature viewers with discerning minds.
(Date reviewed: August 9, 2002)
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