Lonely Hearts DVD Review

Lonely Hearts is loosely based on the true story of Martha Beck (played by Salma Hayek) and Ray Fernandez (played by Jared Leto), who were dubbed the Lonely Hearts Killers and murdered as many as 20 women in the late 1940s. The pair finds their victims, wealthy women, through the personal ads, takes all their money and then murders them in the most heinous ways.

The film is also about two homicide detectives, Elmer C. Robinson and Charles Hilderbrandt, played by John Travolta and James Gandolfini (respectively), who are hot on the trail of the killers, hoping to end their con and killing spree.

The true crime aspect is further enhanced by the fact that Todd Robinson wrote and directed the film, which is based on his grandfather’s experience (his grandfather being Elmer C. Robinson, who Travolta plays). In fact, the scrapbook used in the movie’s opening credits is in fact the original book the director’s grandmother compiled, which chronicled her husband’s career.

While the main plot is certainly about the serial killers, the secondary plot revolves around Robinson and his relationships with those in his life. Travolta manages to bring sensitivity to a role that could have easily been over done (too much brooding, too much anger). The buddy-cop chemistry between Gandolfini and Travolta is also great, at times almost overshadowing the romantic-diabolic chemistry between Hayek and Leto. Rounding out the cast are Laura Dern, Scott Cain, Alice Krige and Dagmara Dominczyk.

The Lonely Hearts DVD is presented in anamorphic widescreen 2.35:1, with audio in Dolby Digital 5.1. The only extra is the 12-minute “Making of Lonely Hearts”, which includes the standard fare of interviews with cast and crew.

In the end, Martha and Ray were arrested and confessed to 12 killings. They both plead not guilty by reason of insanity, a plea that was rejected, and on August 22, 1949, they were both sentenced to death. After numerous appeals, the pair was electrocuted on March 8, 1951, side by side in Sing Sing prison.

While it’s true that certain creative liberties were taken in the film (the main one being that Beck was apparently an obese woman, a trait not in the least bit shared by Hayek), fans of noir and dark crime dramas as well as true crime will thoroughly enjoy Lonely Hearts.