Killing Me Softly

Killing Me Softly follows Alice, a woman living in London with a steady job and a dependable boyfriend, whose life changes when she meets Adam, a mysterious and attractive stranger. She leaves her old life behind and marries him, but soon finds she knows almost nothing about his past. Anonymous letters, Adam's increasingly controlling behaviour and unsettling discoveries about the women who came before her push Alice to investigate, and the answers put her in danger. The film is a crime thriller adapted by screenwriter Kara Lindstrom from a novel, and it was directed by Chen Kaige.

The film was Chen Kaige's third feature in chronological order, arriving after The Emperor and the Assassin and before The Promise, and it marked a move into English-language material for the Chinese director. Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes lead as Alice and Adam, with Natascha McElhone, Ulrich Thomsen, Ian Hart and Rebecca Palmer in supporting roles. It was produced by Michael Chinich, Lynda Myles and Joe Medjuck for The Montecito Picture Company and Noelle Entertainment Limited, with 43 credited crew members.

Released in 2002, the film had a budget of 25 million US dollars and took about 8 million US dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.4 from roughly 21,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.6 from 381 votes, while the film critics' rating stands at 3.9 from 21 reviews, below both audience scores.