Set Online, Brazil
By Juliana Pereira

It is true, the title is awful, but the story is not bad. The director of Farewell my Concubine, Kaige Chen, tells us about the unusual encounter between the mountain climber Adam Tallis (Joseph Fiennes, Ralph's brother who hadn't been seen a lot since Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love) and Alice Loudon (Heather Graham), the moment they were about to cross a street in London. The American has a stable relationship with an English engineer, but doesn't think twice when, after an exchange of glances, she gets in a taxi with the seductive stranger. Her passion for the incredible sex with Adam leads Alice to give up her relationship and start a wild romance with Adam. However, the couple's closeness makes her suspect her husband's violent sexual practice, as well as his mysterious previous relationships. She therefore decides to investigate his past in search of the truth ­ which involves murder, jealousy, intrigue and reversals. There is nothing spectacular about the story (nor about the so-called sex scenes, which are much milder than imagined after all the fuss), but it is a well told story.

Killing me Softly, USA, 2002.
Directed by Kaige Chen.
With Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone, Ulrich Thomsen, Ian Hart, Jason Hughes.
104 min. PlayArte. Drama.