Lonely Hearts

Todd Robinson's 'Lonely Hearts' is a dramatization of the harrowing atrocities committed by the infamous Lonely Hearts lovers. The sepia tone, setting and props do give the look of the 40s but the language feels more contemporary.The film tells too parallel stories: that of the two brutal murderers and that of Elmer Robinson who is trying to cope with the loss of his wife.

The latter is boring mostly due to Travolta's poor performance (he looks uninterested almost during the entire running time) and the slow pace. The scenes at the police station fail to engage. Gandolfini is stuck with a cliché while Scott Caan's character is very irritating. Laura Dern is criminally wasted The story of the two murderers is way too fictionalized (or is Hollywoodized a better word?) and way underdeveloped but it grabs the viewer's attention. Jared Leto is exceptional as Ray Fernandez. Salma Hayek is arguably miscast, physically, as she is the total opposite of the real Martha Beck, but if you're willing to let that go then her acting is terrific. Her version of Beck is alluring, manipulative, obsessive and cold blooded and she conveys all those characteristics quite naturally.

Pretty much all the characters are poorly developed. There is no background information on the killers (true accounts depict that Ray's drastic personality change may have been a result of brain injury).

Overall, 'Lonely Hearts' feels very much like an ordinary thriller. Even with a stellar cast it fails to stand out.

"Lonely Hearts" tells us the real story of the "Lonely Hearts KIllers", the couple Martha Beck and Raymond Martinez (played by Salma Hayek and Jared Leto) and the police investigation conducted by an obstinate detective (John Travolta) recently traumatized with the unexplainable suicide of his wife. The couple's "name" came from the scam they practiced against lonely women who wanted to engage in a relationship with a man through adds on newspaper's personal columns.

Looks like 2006 was the year to rediscover the film noir. This came out on the same year as Brian De Palma's "Black Dahlia" but attracted less attention. With justice, that was a better film. "Lonely Hearts" presents a good story that pays some small reflection on people who were looking for something good, tried of everything to have a relationship but failed at that, being tricked into the unknown, letting themselves get fooled by looks and charm, and it's also a story about serial killers who take advantage of such situation to simply steal money and take away lives. It sounds very contemporary the small appeal the movie has, just think bigger how this plot would be treated today with the internet and new ways to meet people. We would have what we're get used to see in the news.

Being "accomplices" of the couple in their spree of killing is interesting, wild, an exquisite relationship they have with each other (ironically, Raymond always make the con alone and he was about to try on Martha, who noticed it and started to help him); the background story for Travolta's character sometimes work, other times doesn't involve us at all, the investigation when made right works fine with some thrilling scenes. But the majority of scenes here is constantly showing the lack of cooperation between the detectives played by James Gandolfini (and his annoying voice-over) and Scott Caan. Why we're forced to watch them fight and play like kids all the time, what's the point?

The acting deserves some credit, specially for Leto playing a character that rare young actors would like to play, sacrificing his good looks to appear less beautiful to the camera with a hair piece to hide his slightly baldness. He's a weak fella, someone who at first only wanted to get money from his victims to later be seduced by this woman who'll boss around him to make anything for her, including the murders of the worst kind. Hayek is a little over-the-top but she knows how to leave a good impression anyhow. Laura Dern is very good in the ungrateful role of the female detective who takes interest on poor Travolta, always trying to be more than just an affair.

For the most part, characters and the movie sink little by little into a dark corner, too much predictable but somehow it manages to not disappoint. Compared with "Black Dahlia" since both are film noir updates of the 21st century it fails for not being more clever, more intriguing. Clearly, De Palma had to imagine many unbelievable devices to present the story but at least it was great. Here, even if the story is very close to the truth, and the fact of the director being related to the main character doesn't count much. To quote Kubrick: "It is real but it's not interesting". 6/10

This is not a poor film. Yes I did some research and found some flaws but it's HOLLYWOOD! Hardly any movie out there is 100%. I really respect the director and how well he did with such little experience at the time handling this powerhouse cast! The movie flows well, the scenes look great, the cast delivers the lines, and you ultimately end up with a damn decent crime thriller. John, Jim, Jared, and Salma are all excellent in this. They all weren't lacking by any means. I really am flabbergasted by the hate this movie gets. I have definitely seen way worse period pieces. If you're looking for an interesting, well acted, semi true story then check this out! I really enjoyed it.

Within two minutes of starting this movie it became clear that it was very well put together. Excellent cinematography and costume design.

I'm not sure exactly what it was that disappointed me so much. It could have been the lack of drama. I didn't feel like the plot escaladed to a climax. I understand that this is based on a true story, but it certainly could have been done in a more dramatic way; especially during certain parts of the chase.

The acting was excellent on all parts. In agreement with everyone else, Salma Hayek was a stand-out. However, I feel that Jared Leto (who plays Ray Fernandez) was miss-cast. I think that's the part that prevented me from enjoying this movie the most. I was excited to see this because I am a HUGE Jared Leto fan, and I've always loved the films he's been in, and he's always become one with his character (e.g. his role as Harry Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream). Although his acting was excellent as always, I just couldn't buy it. As I watched his character evolve I felt more and more conflicted between the good-hearted vulnerability I felt from him (perhaps as a result of watching countless interviews of him), and the bad-hearted almost monster-like character he was meant to be portraying. I just couldn't buy him as a sleaze-bag . In Chapter 27 he portrayed a psychotic man so well you forgot it was Jared right from the get-go, so I know it wasn't his acting that got in the way.

On top of that, I felt that Leto and Hayek didn't make a good on-screen couple. He seemed small in comparison to her. This was a couple that worked together to lure in rich folks; I wanted them to seduce me. Instead I was repelled by them, even in the scenes where they are "sucking in" new prey. I felt that they looked, and even acted, awkward together.

In summary, heightened drama and a more befitting Ray Fernandez would have made this an excellent film.

In the late 40s, Raymond Fernandez (Jared Leto) is a hustler who cons rich women. He meets damaged Martha Beck (Salma Hayek). They become the notorious "Lonely Hearts Killers" who rob lonely widows using personal ads and then kill them. Robinson (John Travolta) and Hildebrandt (James Gandolfini) are homicide detectives. The killers eventually confess to twelve murders in total.

The cast is first rate. There is enough production value. However, writer/director Todd Robinson fails to generate any intensity for me. I think the most compelling characters are Fernandez and Beck. I would have like them to lead. Travolta and Gandolfini are great actors but I'm not fascinated by their characters. Following both sets of characters simply divides the attention of the audience.