Killing Me Softly | |||||
There's a clear Hitchcock vibe here, complete with soaring orchestral score, swooping cameras and a willingness to put a woman in danger in the middle of bright, everyday locations. These are the best aspects of the film, which does create mysterious characters effectively. Unfortunately, once it starts to twist and reveal the secrets the whole thing comes crashing to pieces--nothing about the story hangs together, the characters become increasingly stiff and unbelievable, and the incessant red herrings finally become too much to bear. I mean, who cares whether Alice is really in danger or if she's just built up these suspicions in her mind? It starts out OK, and it looks great, but in the end this is a sub-par Sleeping with the Enemy knock-off, spiced up with kinky sex and a twisty story that just gets more idiotic with each passing second.
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dir Chen Kaige scr Kara Lindstrom with Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone, Jason Hughes, Ian Hart, Ulrich Thomsen, Yasmin Bannerman, Kika Markham, Helen Grace, Olivia Poulet, Ronan Vibert, Rebecca Palmer release UK 21.Jun.02 MGM 02/UK 1h40 Chance encounter. When Adam and Alice (Fiennes and Graham) meet, their entire lives change forever.... | ||||
"Honestly I found it quite refreshing. I mean, if you're looking for Cinema with a capital C this isn't the place to go, but if you want to be entertained by a film which is fun and doesn't take itself too seriously (a very rare and much appreciated quality these days), this movie does the trick. It's suspensful, fast paced, full of atmosphere and, as you wrote, Hitchcockian - what's wrong with that? Plus, Fiennes has such fun with his character, although admittedly Heather Graham is a bit dull, the other actors are good too. I definitely recommend this movie for just some good old-fashioned escapism - isn't that what movies were originally meant for?" --Carol Teri, Florence, Italy 29.May.02 | |||||
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