Lonely Hearts (2006)

The exploits of a murderous couple who, in the late 1940s, became known as "The Lonely Hearts Killers" generated a great deal of public interest because of their long-running crime spree and the gruesome nature of the numerous murders that they committed. It's no surprise, therefore, that their story has already provided the basis for a couple of movies and the most notable of these was Leonard Kastle's "The Honeymoon Killers" (1970). In Kastle's movie, the focus remained exclusively on the couple and there was never any intimation that the police were on their tails. "Lonely Hearts", by contrast, tells its story by providing a balanced view of what took place, from the perspectives of both the criminals and the police.Interestingly, director and screenwriter, Todd Robinson is the grandson of the homicide detective who arrested the two killers and so his motivation for telling the story in the way he does is perfectly understandable.After the unexplained suicide of his wife three ears earlier, Nassau County police detective Elmer "Buster" Robinson (John Travolta) had fallen into a deep depression and unable to come to terms with what had happened, confined himself mainly to desk work. This changed however, when a woman's dead body was found in circumstances very similar to his wife's and his colleagues immediately concluded that the death was a suicide. From that point on, Buster became determined to prove that the woman in question had been murdered and to hunt down her killer. Although Detective Charles Hildebrandt (James Gandolfini), who'd been Buster's friend and partner since their "squad car days" wasn't convinced, he was nevertheless, pleased to see this positive change in his old buddy.Raymond Martinez Fernandez (Jared Leto) was a small-time scam-artist whose speciality was locating lonely single women through the newspaper personal ads and after writing to them for a while, would seduce them before relieving them of as much money as possible. One of his marks was ex-nurse Martha Beck (Salma Hayek), but after discovering that she was unemployed, he immediately lost interest in her. Unexpectedly though, Martha recognised what Raymond was up to and enthusiastically joined him in his endeavours, posing as his sister. Unfortunately, Raymond soon discovered that his new partner-in-crime was intensely jealous of the ladies he targeted and was, not only swift to turn her hand to murder, but also to goad Raymond into murdering as well.The couple's murderous rampage continued unabated for some time before Buster, who was also preoccupied by problems with his personal relationships, was eventually able to catch up with the pair and bring them to justice."Lonely Hearts" is a beautifully made film that successfully captures the look and atmosphere of the period in which it's set and features some great hardboiled dialogue. At one point, Buster predicts that "Hell's coming home for Xmas" if Raymond ever decides to dump Martha.Adding an account of the police perspective on the investigation provides some extra interest but what's more difficult to understand is why some departures from the true story were included for no apparent reasons. Fernandez didn't, in fact, kill a police officer and an old man as depicted in this movie and Martha Beck, in reality, was an unattractive, insecure woman who weighed over 200 lbs and was not Hispanic.This movie boasts a terrific cast of actors who turn in some excellent performances. John Travolta conveys the troubled nature of his character who's struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife and to overcome problems with his relationships with his son and his secret lover. Jared Leto is good as the toupee-wearing gigolo who finds himself on the road to Hell after meeting Martha and Salma Hayek, although obviously miscast, brings great vitality to her role and does especially well in the scenes that she shares with Leto. James Gandolfini (who provides the movie's entertaining narration) also does a good job of playing a tough cop, whilst also simultaneously showing the warmth that exists between Hildebrandt and Robinson.Overall, "Lonely Hearts" is a worthwhile remake that's interesting and enjoyable to watch (especially for those who aren't too concerned about its factual inaccuracies).

"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

A thriller, in older time, while having a meaning about the importance of not being lonely. I asked myself why it wasn't made by one of the major studios in Hollywood? At the end, I kind of figured it out. The script didn't get deep with the sex and violence of the story. That's it. But, while that being a good thing, it messed, else publicity, the more artistic side that could distinguish the mainstream production sometimes.While it is good and nicely done, this movie lacked more heat, thrill, and most of all style. It seems to be another movie of the week, yet with some gloss. I don't know why it didn't go through its catchy characters, especially the criminal dual. There is absolutely no satisfactory scene for any of them to talk elaborately about themselves, their history, or complications. With another, more sophisticated, director and writer it could have been more interesting and attractive.Whether (John Travolta) meant to handle his character so romantically, or he just was himself. Both ways he didn't affect much. Obviously he likes to flee from Hollywood to do more different, and no light, specter of humans, instead of the nutty evil men, or familiar good men, that Hollywood uses him for. But sorry dear John, you allowed your charisma and frozen quiet grin lead everything, and that was not enough for me. Why I longed for (Russell Crowe) during the whole time?! (James Gandolfini) was sure better. Look at the way he masters utilizing his big body's language. And he, unlike Travolta, wasn't acting at all, not even a bit. Despite the shortness of his role, this is one of the best performances I have ever seen for him to date. (Laura Dern) made fair efforts, according to fairly written material. On the contrary, (Salma Hayek) and (Jared Leto) had been highly wronged by such a careless script.It kept reminding me of (Hollywoodland), strangely produced in the same year. The resonance of true story, the 2 story lines, America of the 1950's. On the level of being even, (Lonely Hearts) wins. Not the same result on the rest levels though. One of my friends used to call the ordinary art works : plain bread. Well, this one is. Yet while having a potential story, stars, and fair atmosphere. Read my title again to have the whole picture !

I personally have a severe weakness for horror/thriller movies that are based on real-life serial killer cases, mostly because the truth is even viler and more disturbing than the imagination of any given Hollywood scriptwriter. I've seen numerous film adaptations of real murder cases, but one of the most jaw-dropping and fascinating stories for me undoubtedly remains Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck's the Lonely Heart killings. Their modus operandi was simple but frighteningly disturbing. During only a very short period of time – the second half of the 1940's – Beck and Fernandez are believed to have killed over twenty women; all of them aged spinsters and single mothers who were unfortunate enough to place an add in the lonely hearts section of a newspaper. With his looks and natural charms Raymond could easily seduce the poor women and, with Martha posing his sister, they robbed and killed them. The ironic aspect about the case is that they themselves met and fell in love through an add in the paper. These are strictly the facts of the case, but the problem with "Lonely Hearts" is that it's a Hollywood production and thus naturally tends to deviate from the genuineness in favor to appeal to wider audiences. The film introduces an impressive list of cast members, including John Travolta, Salma Hayek and James Gandolfini, and writer/director Todd Robinson is the actual grandson of police inspector Robinson who was in charge of the Lonely Hearts investigation. He processes a lot of rather irrelevant sub plots into the script, like the remorse over his own wife's suicide and the personal issues with his teenage son and colleague love interest, which aren't directly connected to the murder investigation. Therefore, if you're interested in a truly faithful adaptation of the same case, I strongly recommend Leonard Kastle's film "The Honeymoon Killers". That movie also features a lot more detailed accuracy. For example, the real Martha Beck was a woman struggling with obesity and a lack of confidence, whereas in this version she's portrayed by natural beauty Salma Hayek who spontaneously gives oral sex to a highway patrolman to evade a speeding ticket. Now, the occasional lack of accuracy and diversion doesn't mean that "Lonely Hearts" is a bad film, of course. Far from it, in fact, as I can honestly admit I was glued to the TV-screen throughout the entire film. The biggest trump is that Todd Robinson re-creates an admirably moody and depressing film-noir atmosphere, complete with typical narration and an astonishing cinematography. The costumes and scenery (including old cars and farmhouses), as well as the color schemes and music, catapult you straight back to the 1940's. In spite the fact that "Lonely Hearts" is full of famous Hollywood faces, the film is also surprisingly shockingly violent and occasionally even quite nihilistic in tone. The murders of Jeanette Long and Delphine Downing are graphically depicted and definitely not suitable for sensitive viewers. Last but not least the acting performances are praiseworthy. Especially Salma Hayek impresses with her portrayal of the sickly jealous and psychopathic Martha Beck and Jared Leto isn't bad neither, as the emotionless and sly Raymond Fernandez.