Lonely Hearts

2006 Crime Drama

Todd Robinson's Lonely Hearts features John Travolta and James Gandolfini as Elmer C. Robinson and Charles Hildebrandt, a pair of homicide detectives who are on the trail of lovers on a crime spree. The evil duo of Ray Fernandez (Jared Leto) and Martha Beck (Salma Hayek) take advantage of elderly widows, stealing as much money as they can after gaining the victim's confidence, and then murdering their mark. Robinson becomes drawn into the case too deeply in order to help him confront his feelings, as his wife has recently killed herself. The story is based on the real life "Lonely Hearts" killers of the late '40s, the infamous couple whom the director's grandfather played a large part in bringing to justice.

Director: Todd Robinson

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

 26 Reviews  1 Awards

Reviews

  • Todd Robinson constructs a riveting thriller.

    Ronnie Scheib - Variety

    26 April 2013

  • 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."

    Stephen Holden - The New York Times

    26 April 2013

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

    David Denby - The New Yorker

    26 April 2013

  • 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.

    - Los Angeles Times

    26 April 2013

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

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    26 April 2013

Awards

  • Todd Robinson

    San Sebastián International Film Festival (2006)

     

Lists

No lists

©2013 Movie Monitor