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Lonely Hearts
Millennium Films / Samuel Goldwyn Films LLC / Roadside Attractions


7.7

based on 14 reviews
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based on 4 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for strong violence and sexual content, nudity and language

Starring John Travolta, James Gandolfini, Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, Scott Caan, Laura Dern, Michael Gaston, and Bruce MacVittie

Lonely Hearts is a vivid retelling of the real life murder spree of Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez (America's notorious "Lonely Hearts Killers") and its connection to the tragic story of Detective Elmer C. Robinson who helped capture the killers but lost his wife in the process. (Millennium Films)

GENRE(S):	Crime \| Drama \| Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Todd Robinson
DIRECTED BY:	Todd Robinson
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: July 31, 2007 Theatrical: April 13, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	108 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Variety Ronnie Scheib

Todd Robinson constructs a riveting thriller.

Los Angeles Times Alex Chun

While not much of a detective story, Robinson's period film does provide a captivating look at the dynamics that turn Fernandez and Beck into serial killers.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

As fictional characters in a movie that is fetishistic in its attention to period detail, Mr. Leto and Ms. Hayek work well together as an unsavory couple two rungs down the social ladder from Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in "Double Indemnity."

The New Yorker David Denby

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

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Lonely Hearts never locates the key to the killers' bloody bond.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Travolta gives a hangdog performance as the world-weary cop obsessed with rooting out the killers. Hayek and Leto share a few tart black comic moments as the film spirals into a bloodbath.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

The intensity of Leto and Hayek goes deeper than the script into revealing what makes these two sociopaths in heat impervious to bloody murder. When Hayek and Leto are onscreen, you do not look away.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

While Travolta and Gandolfini have the beefy, closed-off look of post-WWII era cops, they never FEEL: They look like actors playing dress up. Leto overcomes his delicate good looks to embody Fernandez's feral, faintly exotic charm, but Hayek is a standard-issue femme fatale, damaged on the inside but flawless on the surface.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

A handsome and well-acted film -- if you like that bitten-off, half-Hemingway style -- but also a grim, emotionally strangled one with a strong sadistic current, no genuinely likable characters and almost no humor.

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

While the duo's crimes were indeed sensational, writer-director Todd Robinson's starry take on the material fails to provide much in the way of a new perspective.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

Todd Robinson, grandson of the real-life Elmer, never fully commits to the heartlessness of the genre as Arthur Penn did in "Bonnie and Clyde."

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Too much of the film is given over to the soap opera of Elmer's life.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Good as she is, the effortlessly magnetic Hayek just can't sell the role of a pathetic soul whose deep insecurities turn her into a sociopath. And if she has too much charisma, Leto, as the smooth Lothario, simply doesn't have enough.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Hayek, with that old-time movie-star pout, those dark, reflective eyes (they could be Satan's twin swimming pools), is the shivery, chilling backbone of Lonely Hearts. Martha Beck couldn't get away with murder. But Salma Hayek can.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.7 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jay M. gave it an8:
Criminally overlooked noir.

Marie M. gave it a6:
Unfortunately, Selam Hayack can't act. When that's combined with her being incredibly badly miscast in this role, it's a disaster. The real-life character her role is based on was a morbidly obese woman. If they'd cast someone appropriate - say, somone who coudld, I don't know - ACT - the movie really could have worked. The rest of the cast was there and the script wasn't tbad. Instead, Hayack is walking around around in the same red lipstick she wears in every movie being Selma Hayack and it's impossible to forget who she is. It's a shame, too, because Jared Leto is really, really good here.

Johnny S. gave it a9:
If you like noir you'll love this film -- Travolta is much better in serious roles like this one, nice to see Gandolfini getting big screen props and Salma hayek is as usual gorgeous.

David E. gave it an8:
Enjoyed the film--Salma Hayek and Jared Leto deliver solid performances in very twisted characters who really deserve each other. Hayek is especially "compelling".

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Lonely Hearts Millennium Films / Samuel Goldwyn Films LLC / Roadside Attractions

Lonely Hearts
Millennium Films / Samuel Goldwyn Films LLC / Roadside Attractions