Now Magazine (UK)
June 14, 2002

Cert: 18
Released: 21 June
Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Heather Graham, Natascha McElhone.

Killing me Softly has to be the most unintentionally hysterical film so far this year. With unconvincing acting, appalling dialogue and a totally unbelievable storyline, it's more like a farcical comedy than the thriller it's billed to be.

Walking along the pavement one day, Alice (Graham) bumps into a handsome stranger (Fiennes.) Their eyes lock and before you know it shes around his house having kinky sex and agreeing to get married.

It's only after he has taken nude pictures of her in a graveyard on their honeymoon that she stops to wonder if he might just be a bit mad, a thought reinforced by his conniving sister (McElhone) who seems to be just as bonkers.

Based on a novel by Nicci French, Killing me Softly is meant to be all about a grand, obsessive passion. However, the film has absolutely zero sex appeal. Joseph Fiennes' attempts at smouldering only make him look very cross indeed, while Heather Graham is brilliant at heavy breathing - and not very good at much else in this movie.

1 star..... Fiennes kills off any passion in this farcical thriller