Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
A woman grows suspicious of her controlling husband after she discovers secrets about the women in his past.
Killing Me Softly is a glossy but ultimately hollow erotic thriller that squanders its premise. The plot, based on Nicci French's novel, follows a fairly predictable arc of dangerous obsession and dark secrets without generating genuine tension or surprise. Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes deliver competent but unremarkable performances, never fully convincing in their passionate central dynamic. The London cinematography and stylish visual sheen give it a polished look above its middling script. The film offers little that distinguishes it from the wave of similarly themed erotic thrillers of the era, feeling derivative of better entries in the genre. The ending resolves matters in a disappointingly conventional fashion, failing to deliver a satisfying payoff to the psychological intrigue it attempts to build.