The director of such highly regarded films as Yellow Earth (1984) and Farewell, My Concubine (1993), Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige makes his English-language debut with this erotic thriller adapted from the novel by Nicci French. Alice (Heather Graham) is an American Web designer living in Illinois who falls for a ruggedly handsome mountain climber named Adam (Joseph Fiennes). Bored with her dull love live, sparks begin to fly when Alice and Adam have a chance meeting at a stoplight, and it isn't long before the couple are living together and Adam proposes. With their heated romance taking on hints of mild S & M following their wedding, Alice's realization that she knows very little about her new spouse begins to take on ominous undertones when she discovers that his former fiancée died under mysterious circumstances. Allegations of rape and more missing lovers soon prompt Alice to continue her increasingly disturbing investigation toward answers she may not be ready to accept. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Patrick Field - Bartender; Ian Hart - Daniel, Senior Police Officer; Kika Markham - Mrs. Blanchard; Donald Gee - Vicar; Ronan Vibert - Alice's Boss; Natascha McElhone - Deborah Tillis; Amy Robbins - Sylvie; Ulrich Thomsen - Klaus; Ian Aspinall - Alice's Work Colleague; Rebecca Palmer - Michelle; Helen Grace - Lucy, Alice's Work Colleague; Jason Hughes - Jake; Richard Green - Police Officer In Interview; Yasmin Bannerman - Joanna Noble; Olivia Poulet - Alice's Secretary; Oliver Ryan - Bookshop Assistant; Tim Faraday - Police Officer In Street; Lee Boswell - Police Officer In Interview
Credit
Rod McLean - Art Director, Christina Moore - Art Director, Anna Chi - Associate Producer, Susie Figgis - Casting, James Shearman - Conductor, Phoebe Degaye - Costume Designer, Cliff Lanning - First Assistant Director, Jamie Christopher - First Assistant Director, Chen Kaige - Director, Yang Shu - Second Unit Director, Jon Gregory - Editor, Daniel Goldberg - Executive Producer, Ivan Reitman - Executive Producer, Tom Pollock - Executive Producer, David Pinnington - Location Manager, Steve Hart - Location Manager, Donna Grey - Line Producer, Patrick Doyle - Musical Arrangement, James Shearman - Musical Arrangement, Lawrence Ashmore - Musical Arrangement, Patrick Doyle - Musical Direction/Supervision, Paul Gooch - Makeup, Philip Sindall - Camera Operator, Gemma Jackson - Production Designer, Michael Coulter - Cinematographer, Terry Bamber - Production Manager, Victoria Goodall - Production Manager, Rachel Neale - Production Manager, Joe Medjuck - Producer, Lynda Myles - Producer, Michael Chinich - Producer, Trisha Edwards - Set Designer, Steven Warner - Special Effects, Mark Holding - Sound Mixer, Colin Miller - Sound Editor, Gary Powell - Stunts, Clive Beard - Special Effects Supervisor, David Cain - Unit Production Manager, David Seaton - Unit Production Manager, Kara Lindstrom - Screenwriter, Animal Acting - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Ian Seymour - Associate Editor, Graham Sutton - Music Editor, Maggie Rodford - Music Producer, Air Edel Associates Ltd - Music Producer, Paige Wingrove - Post Production Coordinator, Louise Seymour - Post Production Coordinator, Vivien Jordan - Post Production Coordinator, Rachel Dison - Post Production Coordinator, Stephen Barker - Post Production Supervisor, John Hayward - Re-Recording Mixer, Hilary Fagg - Script Supervisor, Simon Downes - Second Assistant Director, Alf Tramontin - Steadicam Operator, Paul Edwards - Steadicam Operator, Peter Gleaves - ADR Mixer, Kevin Tayler - ADR Mixer, Suzi Turnbull - Costumes Supervisor, Richard Fettes - Dialogue Editor, Jacques Leroide - Foley Editor, Howard Weaver - Scenic Artist, Nicci French - Book Author, Ed Coyler - Foley Mixer, Meike Meng - Graphic Design, Mill Film - Title Design, Chris Allies - Title Design
Killing Me Softly is a 2002 film directed by Chen Kaige and starring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes. Based on the novel by Nicci French (pen name of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French), it introduces several substantial changes to the story and focuses heavily on the intense sexual relationship between the main characters. The film was given an "R" rating by the MPAA, and was released unrated on DVD.
The film was Chen Kaige's first, and to date only English-language film.
Alice (Heather Graham) believes she is happy in a secure job and a year long relationship with her live-in boyfriend. However, after a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger (Joseph Fiennes) she seeks him out and the two end up having sex. She returns home to her boyfriend, hoping to bring out the same feelings between them she had with her stranger without luck. The following day she seeks him out again, discovering his name is Adam - a mountain climber who is considered a hero after a tragic outing where one team lost their lives. She leaves her boyfriend and begins a relationship with Adam. She begins receiving phantom phone calls, soon Adam asks Alice to marry him and on the day of their wedding she receives an unmarked letter warning her against Adam, she ignores it and the two marry. Soon after she begins receiving more letters and begins to wonder about her husband's mysterious past and why he never mentions anything of his past to her, becoming even more alarmed when she searches a locked room and finds a box of old letters from an ex-lover. She goes searching after several leads as to who is sending the warnings and discovers a woman from Adam's past had gone missing. She suspects he had something to do with it and eventually runs from him. She goes to police but they cannot do anything without any evidence. The movie ends with a looming twist and Alice discovers Adam truly was not the man she thought he was.
