You may remember director Chen Kaige from such critically acclaimed films as
Farewell, My Concubine and
Temptress Moon, which were both even-paced and well-developed. For some reason,
Killing Me Softly doesn't live up to any of that. There are so many things wrong with this movie: no character motivation (for example, it's never clear why Heather Graham's character is attracted to Joseph Fiennes' character in the first place), little clue as to the "twist" at the end, and not-even-terribly-exciting sex scenes. This movie can be best summed up as
So I Married an Axe Murderer but with a lot of sex and no comedy. If you come with the right attitude (think
Showgirls and
Flash Gordon), you can have a lot of fun with your friends... laughing
at the movie. By the way, Heather Graham can't act. She obviously got this part just because of her willingness to get naked.
--A.Y.