Lonely Hearts (2006)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Cynthia S

  
  Surprisingly good little crime thriller. The setting is a very realistic recreation of the late fourties. Salma is gorgeous, and magniciently evil. The rest of the cast is really good across the board...even Travolta. I really wasn't expecting too much from this movie, but I was… More
  Surprisingly good little crime thriller. The setting is a very realistic recreation of the late fourties. Salma is gorgeous, and magniciently evil. The rest of the cast is really good across the board...even Travolta. I really wasn't expecting too much from this movie, but I was really amazed at the quality. Some rather intense brutality scenes, also.

• danny d

  
  this was a phenomenal film. total sleeper because i hadnt heard anything about it, i just rented it based on the cast, and it was better than expected. much better. one of the best films of this year so far, the entire cast really delivered. the film was written well and i loved… More
  this was a phenomenal film. total sleeper because i hadnt heard anything about it, i just rented it based on the cast, and it was better than expected. much better. one of the best films of this year so far, the entire cast really delivered. the film was written well and i loved gandolfini's narrative. salma heyak was top notch and the film was engaging but incredibly haunting and sad at the same time. worth a watch.

• Dean !

  
  A decent crime drama based on a true story of a murdering couple in the 1940's and 50's. It has an exceptional cast, but wonders between crime drama and the sub stories a bit too much. A slow paced film without a lot of action. ok but could have been a lot better.

• Lady D

  
  LONELY HEARTS Jared Leto loses his boyish looks in this film as he transforms himself into an older man and teams up with Salma Hayek to become lovers on a rampage in a Bonnie & Clyde fashion. Worth watching, but don?t make it a high priority.

• Lanning :

  
  Argh. Not bad enough to pull John Travolta from my favorite actors list, but if he starts stringing together a bunch of outings like this one, I may have to think about giving him the axe. Geez what a feckless and tastelessly done movie. <p> For instance: And the point of… More
  Argh. Not bad enough to pull John Travolta from my favorite actors list, but if he starts stringing together a bunch of outings like this one, I may have to think about giving him the axe. Geez what a feckless and tastelessly done movie. <p> For instance: And the point of showing us the executions at the end was . . . what exactly?

• Fernando Rafael Q

  
  lonely hearts....a really nice crime movie, that went under the radar this year, the writing is good, but what really grabs you from this film are the way the great salma hayek (mexican pride!!) and jared leto portray their parts, they are so convincing and really really good, the… More
  lonely hearts....a really nice crime movie, that went under the radar this year, the writing is good, but what really grabs you from this film are the way the great salma hayek (mexican pride!!) and jared leto portray their parts, they are so convincing and really really good, the movie is very intense and full of drama, there are some really creepy moments, the soundtrack is nice, so is the photography and i just loved the sick love that hayek's character had for leto's john travolta was okay, dan byrd was good for the little time onscreen he had, same thing with laura dern, and james gandolfini....that dude acts the same way in everything he does.. awesome movie...

• William D

  
  [size=3][color=black]Lonely Hearts has great art direction, costumes, and cinematography. It's done in the style of classic film noir, which was a delight to see. But the script is so impoverished that you come up empty-handed.[/color][/size]… More
  [size=3][color=black]Lonely Hearts has great art direction, costumes, and cinematography. It's done in the style of classic film noir, which was a delight to see. But the script is so impoverished that you come up empty-handed.[/color][/size] [size=3][color=black][img]http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tixSYS/2006/filmguide/images/filmstills/4170.jpg[/img][/color][/size] [size=3][color=black]The plot is based on a true story of serial killers in the 1940s. [Once again, our epoch reveals its fascination with serial murderers, one of the cardinal aspects of our time. Although we may be shifting our fascination to a new breed of psycho killer, the kind that goes on a shooting rampage and then kills himself. But let's bracket that and put it aside.][/color][/size] [size=3][color=black]I'm pretty certain that the director is the son of the main character (played by John Travolta), who solves the murders and plays a big role in ensuring that the killers get executed. James Gandolfini plays his sidekick.[/color][/size] [size=3][/size] [img]http://movie.yesky.com/movie/cover/86/4086_001.jpg[/img] [size=3][color=black]Salma Hayek and Jared Leto, in a nice acting stretch for them, play the killers. Leto is the one who strives to give more depth to his character. But he doesn't have much to go on, given the shallowness of the script.[/color][/size] [size=3][color=black]Hayek gives the most showy performance. It's impossible not to watch her. But I didn't feel her work had much depth to it. It seemed cut from the same cloth as other murderers we've seen portrayed a million times. Hayek's character clearly is mentally ill, but I can't say we learn anything about her, except that she was raped a lot as a child. That seems to be an almost obligatory thing for scripts today to say about murderers. That's all we ever get.[/color][/size] [size=3][color=black]I was eager to see what Travolta would do in this film. He's such a mega-star right now that to see him doing what is essentially an indie was to me quite interesting. I suppose there's a part of him that still is a real actor. But can he deliver the goods? Not really.[/color][/size] [size=3][color=black]I appreciate that he played it so ugly, getting fat for the role. His face in particular is alarmingly bloated. He also doesn't play up his personal likability whatsoever. I don't believe there's one moment in the film when he smiles. And he doesn't try to ennoble the character in any undue manner to try to make him more sympathetic. Travolta seems only to care about being true to the character, warts and all. He never comes across as likable. That was really a pleasure to see from Travolta.[/color][/size] [size=3][color=black]But whereas I'm pleased that he didn't try to make the character likable, I'm displeased by the fact that Travolta didn't seem to try to make the character interesting. I never felt anything interesting about this man coming across. It seems that Travolta has lost his capacity to convey depth.[/color][/size] [size=3]Gandolfini gives the same performance he gives everywhere else. I cannot believe that he keeps getting cast in movies. He should stay on the small screen where he belongs. But truthfully, that's probably where Travolta belongs too. And Hayek I suppose as well. [/size] [size=3]Jared Leto was the only one in Lonely Hearts that struck me as a real movie actor. In the hands of the right directors, I could see Leto becoming an actor of real significance. I think this film is a real step forward for him.[/size]

• Cameron J

  
  Man, now that is a stellar visual effect, receding Jared Leto's hairline. What did you think they did it with practical make-up? Please, if they tried that, his hair would just pop back out, because there's no getting rid of it by physical means. Seriously, if they dig him… More
  Man, now that is a stellar visual effect, receding Jared Leto's hairline. What did you think they did it with practical make-up? Please, if they tried that, his hair would just pop back out, because there's no getting rid of it by physical means. Seriously, if they dig him up many decades after his death, if for no other reason, they're going to display his skeleton in a museum because it still has hair, as well as his eye color, because nothing can kill those either. No, his eyeballs will be gone; I'm saying that his freakishly shiny corneas are just gonna be floating there and if that doesn't scream museum exhibit, then I don't know what does, but really, considering the state of severe stupidity society will no doubt be in once the immortal Nicki Minaj - who is immortal because I doubt you can kill a demon - is "Koeen uv da Planut", (No, they're gonna be so stupid that that's how their gonna spell it) they're gonna display ol' Jared Skeleto for his work in 30 Seconds to Mars, for they'll forget all about his acting career, because the immortal Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (Again, because they're demons) won't leave the slightest trace of "popular" art films, let alone ones that people hadn't even heard of when they came out. That's a shame even now, because the people need to help get Leto's acting back at the forefront, because darn it, he's one of today's greats. This guy is just too blasted good to be putting acting in the back of his to-do list and here, he further proves that by carrying not just one, but like, five films at the same time, or at least that's how it felt, considering that these genre changes are about as forced as this segway. I love this concept of presenting the story of the "Lonely Hearts Killers" in the slick, but tensely gritty fashion it was meant to be told in, while at the same time, paying homage to the classic era of the detective-crime noir genre. Mr. Todd Robinson has written a fine script, but his execution of it is hit-or-miss, but when it misses, it misses something big. He gets tones down and executes the layers of our characters sharply, but when it comes to shifting the tone and layers, - as his script so often does - Robinson can't catch up as a director. To make matters worse, Robinson can't handle the shifts in focus in the storylines, especially when it comes to the Elmer C. Robinson storyline, where it doesn't seem like our director put in enough interest to make it as interesting as the story of the killers, leaving you begging for that story back when we switch to the Elmer Robinson storyline. Still, when it does finally switch, the transition is bumpy, partially because what storyline we do focus upon, we spend way too much time on, making the film feel severely unbalanced. Whether the director's the grandson to the hero or not, a multi-character study is hard to work with smoothly, especially for a first-timer, and Todd Robinson can't make it all snap together, thus leaving the film to squander its potential and sadly become rather unsatisfying. Still, although his storytelling is a bit off Tim Robinson delivers more as a first-timer than you migh think. He has a tough time shifting tone, but I feel that Todd Robinson delivers on what tone is at hand, whether when he's having to make something entertaining, or dramatic, or just plain tense, and when this film gets dark, it's both horrifying and golden, for Robinson has such an understanding of how to portray these twisted events in a disturbing, yet realistic fashion, and although his storytelling isn't perfect, the way he sets things up and keeps this film on a steady, but sure rise in compellingness, in spite of its uneveness, is extremely impressive. For that, I also have to give credit to the handsomely gritty cinematography, as well as the lively production designs and excellent soundtrack, but really, what carries this film and delivers more than anything else, might just be the performers. Now, as much as we'll give Travolta trash for his more recent work and - lord help us all - performance in "Battlefield Earth", he's still a generally pretty good performer, and here, he shows that by boasting the charisma, emotion and presence to carry what compellingness there is in the rather underwhelming Elmer C. Robinson storyline. Still, there's a reason why Robinson's storyline isn't as interesting as the killers' and that reason is because... well, it's a story about the adventure of charming murderers on the lamb. Still, what carries that storyline is, of course, the sharp chemistry between Salma Hayek and Jared Leto, as well as their fantastic performances. Hayek emits the sharply mysterious atmosphere that make the Martha Beck character and chillingly complex one. Of course, the performance right on par with her's is of course by my man, Jared Leto, who plays up every layer and emotion behind Raymond Fernandez in a humanly charming, when not compelling fashion and if you see this film for nothing else, then let it be for Hayek and Leto's stellar performances. In the end, Todd Robinson's study on the unraveling sanity of the "Lonely Hearts Killers", as well as the struggles of his grandfather as he hunts the killers down squanders its potential, due to the bumpy executions of the shifts in layers and tone that could have made this the darkly complex classic noir throwback it promised to be, but thanks to the very handsomely gritty style, sharp execution of the tones, - bumpy though, their shifts may be - steady rise in compellingness, as well as the all around solid performances, - headed by the stellar Jared Leto and Salma Hayek - "Lonely Hearts" stands as a generally enjoyable noir experience. 3/5 - Good

• Sol C

  
  Disappointing, especially given who is in the film. Hayek and Gandolfini are really good in the film. However, Travolta and Leto seem miscast in this film. Leeto and Hayek, in my opinion didn't have good on screen chemistry.

• Yinalí R

  
  Very interesting movie, a little psycho, but I thought it was worth it.

• William G

  
  Well-directed true-crime tale stumbles dramatically.

• Sylvester K

  
  A bit over exaggerated, but good cast and acting

• Lee K

  
  Real life murderous couple Martha Beck (Salma Hayek) and Raymond Fernandez (Jared Leto) and their murderous love affair is the main story of Todd Robinson's Lonely Hearts. Detective Elmer C. Robinson (John Travolta) his own life a tragedy in itself connects deeply with these two… More
  Real life murderous couple Martha Beck (Salma Hayek) and Raymond Fernandez (Jared Leto) and their murderous love affair is the main story of Todd Robinson's Lonely Hearts. Detective Elmer C. Robinson (John Travolta) his own life a tragedy in itself connects deeply with these two killer lovers as he neglected his own wife so much chasing these two that she took her own life leaving him alone to raise their son. This is the story of Robinson's crusade to bring this bonnie And Cyde type couple to justice. With the aid of his partner Det. Charles Hilderbrandt (James Gandolfini) Robinson tracks these two across the u.s reaping all of the aftermath of their crimes. I hated my comparison to Bonnie And Clyde as they only robbed banks and maybe shot the odd policeman who happened to get in their way. Beck and Fernandez were way different Fernandez who was infatuated with Beck and would even kill for her and did, and Beck who was psychotic in her returned love for robinson Quoted as saying : I was the only woman for Raymond. This movie couldve fallen in the footsteps of Bonnie and clyde if it was only made a tad cooler and more believable. Hayek is awesome in the role in fact left me wanting to see her again in the future in a psychotic role. The only part of this that i didnt like is Hayek is extremly beautiful with a nice figure and the real life Marth Beck was anything but. Weighing in at 250lbs she always feared losing Fernandez to one of his cons. Which made her all the more jealous and murderous. Leto does a solid job as fernandez however i didnt really get the fear that this couple really invoked from these two actors. This movie needed alot more spooky overtones.

• Laurence C

  
  Lonely Hearts is a decent enough blend of film noir, thriller and household drama whose very first scene does indeed set the mood for nearly two hours of unsettling, tone-deaf sociopathology. Its detachment as Robinson films an unspeakably gritty series of crimes is all the more… More
  Lonely Hearts is a decent enough blend of film noir, thriller and household drama whose very first scene does indeed set the mood for nearly two hours of unsettling, tone-deaf sociopathology. Its detachment as Robinson films an unspeakably gritty series of crimes is all the more disturbing, but the film never quite ignites like one would expect. Maybe it's the way the screenplay can't quite make the two halves of his narrative-- cop and killers-- intertwine in a satisfying way; maybe it's the way the director never takes full advantage of his hugely gifted cast (except in a few scenes where Hayek and Leto are truly affecting); maybe it's just the fact that all told, this treatment of an extremely dark true story feels kind of lightweight once it's over. But there is indeed a strong twisted poignancy to more than just a few scenes, and even if a lot could be editd out or simply feels too flat, I guess I prefer Robinson's stoic neo-noir cocktail over any manipulative, hyper-stylized take on a real story like this one.

• Moe E

  
  An interesting piece of film noir from writer/director, Todd Robinson, based on the exploits of serial murderers Ray Fernandez and Martha Beck, dubbed by the press as the "Lonely Hearts Killers". Jared Leto and Salma Hayek are brilliant as the sadistically, evil duo with… More
  An interesting piece of film noir from writer/director, Todd Robinson, based on the exploits of serial murderers Ray Fernandez and Martha Beck, dubbed by the press as the "Lonely Hearts Killers". Jared Leto and Salma Hayek are brilliant as the sadistically, evil duo with John Travolta and James Gandolfini doing well as the detectives on their trail. Laura Dern, Scott Caan and Dan Byrd provide solid support. Excellent cinematography, costuming and sets add immeasurably to this period piece, as well.

• Barry L

  
  True story and very unerving when you realise this fact. Very well acted and good to see Travolta in a more serious role.

• Erin C

  
  Really morbid movie, but the acting was really good.

• Haley A

  
  Very interesting film! Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, John Travolta, Laura Dern, and James Gandolfini make a great ensemble. Very unique storyline, and very entertaining film. The murder scenes were done tastefully, and weren't overly done with gore...same goes for the execution… More
  Very interesting film! Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, John Travolta, Laura Dern, and James Gandolfini make a great ensemble. Very unique storyline, and very entertaining film. The murder scenes were done tastefully, and weren't overly done with gore...same goes for the execution scenes. There were a few moments that dragged, but the acting makes up for it.

Read all 18 featured audience ratings