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Movies / On DVD / Lonely Hearts
Lonely Hearts

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Lonely Hearts (2007)

51%
50%
48%
N/A
N/A
N/A
51 %
Reviews Counted: 39 Fresh: 20  Rotten:19 Average Rating: 5.7/10
 
Consensus: Several genres and plotlines intertwine in Lonely Hearts but don’t connect, creating an uneven and unsatisfying film.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Theatrical Release: Apr 13, 2007 Limited

Box Office: $146,530

Synopsis: LONELY HEARTS is the brutal retelling of the true-life tale of Martha Beck (Selma Hayek) and Raymond Fernandez (Jared Leto), a murderous grifter couple who chose their victims via the personal ads of local papers. It was one of the more salacious crime sprees of the late 1940s, and it made a... LONELY HEARTS is the brutal retelling of the true-life tale of Martha Beck (Selma Hayek) and Raymond Fernandez (Jared Leto), a murderous grifter couple who chose their victims via the personal ads of local papers. It was one of the more salacious crime sprees of the late 1940s, and it made a legend out of Long Island police detective Elmer C. Robinson, the grandfather of the film's director, Todd Robinson. The killers' story is certainly one worthy of being retold, rife as it is with sex, violence, tough cops, and con games. Director Robinson looks to vintage crime films as well the cinematic grandeur of Terrence Malick's BADLANDS for his visual aesthetics. It's a combination that works nicely, as nary a detail looks out of place--from the natty fedoras worn by detectives Robinson (John Travolta) and Hildebrandt (James Gandolfini) to the big slabs of Detroit steel that everyone drives. The film also does a nice job of evoking the simultaneous sense of possibility and anxiety in post-WWII America, showing all the characters in one state of transition or another. Robinson, for example, is dealing with the loss of his wife to suicide, an event that fuels much of his obsession with catching the killers. In fact, the types of loss that LONELY HEARTS grapples with are all the result of brutal violence, and Robinson doesn't shy away from the gruesome details of those acts, many of which fall to Selma Hayek. Her portrayal of Martha Beck is one of the more frightening examples of the classic femme fatale. She is positively psychotic, yet smolders with sexuality. She is both violent and stunningly voluptuous, and her jealous rages inevitably end in grotesque, blood-splattered cocktails of sex and horror. LONELY HEARTS' pulp vision is rendered artistically, and Robinson is able to coax solid performances from his actors (particularly Hayek, and also Gandolfini, if only because the viewer forgets who Tony Soprano is for 100 minutes). In general, fans of classic detective films and neo-noirs will find much to enjoy here. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Salma Hayek, Jared Leto, John Travolta, James Gandolfini, Scott Caan

Director: Todd Robinson
Screenwriter: Todd Robinson
Producer: Boaz Davidson, Holly Wiersma, Kathryn Himoff, Sidney Sherman
Composer: Mychael Danna

DVD Info

Release:

Jul 31, 2007

[DVD Details]

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Reviews

 
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Ratings Image
7/10

Leto's layered performance as the nattily dressing dandy with no remorse is truly impressive.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/25/08
Heather Huntington
ReelzChannel.com
Ratings Image
3/5

Un buen ejemplo de cine negro, género fuera de moda que aún conserva su encanto.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/08/08
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
Ratings Image
B-

A good, not great, movie that benefits from nice period detail and some strong performances (especially Hayek and Leto), even if the real-life Beck was a heavyset, homely mess not anywhere near as attractive as Hayek.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/01/07
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
07/28/07
Andrew Pulver
Guardian [UK]
Ratings Image
4/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
07/26/07
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image
61/100

Except for the fact that innocent lives are lost here, it would be easy to walk away from Lonely Hearts saying "so what?".

Full Review | comment Comment
07/20/07
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide
Ratings Image
3/4

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Full Review | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
07/13/07
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher
Ratings Image
N/A

Hayek's alluring temptress persona reinvents Beck's obese nag as a sexed up femme fatale, in an exceedingly odd way trumping Leto's wimpy, henpecked unconvincing womanizer.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/02/07
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press
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3.5/5

A consistently entertaining and occasionally gut-wrenching tale that deserves at least some measure of notice.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/25/07
Scott Collura
IGN Movies
N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
06/16/07
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Ratings Image
N/A

There is some strong work here, but too many misfires.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/23/07
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
2/5

The only juice in Lonely Hearts comes from the thousands of volts shooting through the electric chair in which Martha and Ray are executed in back-to-back scenes that are disturbingly detailed and drawn out.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/21/07
Chad Greene
Boxoffice Magazine
Ratings Image
4/5

Most astute is Leto's impeccable representation of an amoral snake of a man with the looks and sociopathology to fulfill the requirements of his abject trade.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/20/07
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals
Ratings Image
N/A

The story of Fernandez and Beck may be grotesque comedy, but Todd Robinson tells it straight, without flinching from its piteousness, horror, or banality.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/16/07
David Denby
New Yorker
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2/6

Where’s James Ellroy when you need him?

Full Review | comment Comment
04/14/07
David Fear
Time Out New York
Ratings Image
2.5/4

Hayek is a standard-issue femme fatale, damaged on the inside but flawless on the surface.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/13/07
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ratings Image
2.5/4

When Hayek and Leto are onscreen, you do not look away.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/13/07
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
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Ratings Image
3/4

Their amorality isn't presented in a conventional manner; it's depicted in an unremarkable, matter-of-fact style that makes it all the more realistic -- and all the more unsettling.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/13/07
Jim Hemphill
Reel.com
Ratings Image
2.5/4

It's with the focus on the police, though, that the script fails to truly connect.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/13/07
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
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Related Forums

REEL_REVIEWER
(2007 release)-Todd Robinson's LONELY HEARTS skedded to open April 13th
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REEL_REVIEWER
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(2007 release)-Todd Robinson's LONELY HEARTS skedded to open April 13th
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Around the Network

• Lonely Hearts at Rotten Tomatoes
• Lonely Hearts at IGN
• Lonely Hearts at AskMen
 
 
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