Lonely Hearts (DVD, 2007)

LONELY HEARTS tries very hard to evoke the feeling of the 1940s and the troubled police officer whose wife's suicide haunts him until he finds revenge in the investigation of a pair of lonely hearts scam artists. But what happens for the most part is a story that looks, sounds and fells like a 1940s crime movie - 3 parts celluloid transfer, 1 part story.

John Travolta and James Gandolfini play buddy homicide detectives who overcome the ennui of their job when they begin to investigate the multiple murders of 'lonely women' who fall prey to snappy con artist men.
The pair they are chasing are Ray Fernandez (Jared Leto) and his partner in crime Martha Beck (Salma Hayek), a diabolical couple who find their victims through the personal ads and then fleece then murder them victims in heinous ways. Todd Robinson wrote and directed the film based on his grandfather's experience - Elmer C. Robinson (Travolta) - and it is this bit of personal touch that makes the sluggish story work. The capable supporting cast includes such solid actors as Laura Dern and Scott Cain with fine cameos by Alice Krige and Dagmara Dominczyk, playing victims.

Hayek and Leto muster a chemistry on the screen that, while strange in type, allows the viewer to understand the motivation of the crimes. It is a solid cast and a good story: it just seems more derivative of old movies than a film with original thought.

John Travolta is as great as always, Salma Hayek at her very very best. All the actors are terrific and at their best. Very believiable that they really are the people they are playing. The only bad fact of this movie is that it is a True Story!!!!!

I was pleased with receiving this DVD so quickly. This seller was prompt and made my first ebay purchase great! I would buy more from this seller.

It started off kind of slow, picking up a little speed as you got a little more into the movie. At first, I was sure of what the plot would be, but it was not until the last 15 or twenty minutes of the movie that I realized the true plot of the movie. And then did I realize the most lonely of "lonely hearts". A sad story based on true events, to show that love can be so near, but yet, just out of reach. Strong language. Violent scenes. I rated it "good", because it is based on true events.

The characters seemed real. The clothing in the era depicted were awesome.
The photography was wonderful.

Who knew Jared Lto could be so BAD, and still so good looking?! John Travolta plays a good guy again, finally, and pulls it off! A surprising cast in a great movie!

I was really surprised by this movie---I'd seen the first movie treatment of this story (THE HONEYMOON KILLERS, 1970)and doubted that anyone could make a better movie than that. But LONELY HEARTS was quite different and just as authentic and interesting. It's greatest strengths are the attention to period detail and the backstory of the Police involved in the case (who never appear at all in HONEYMOON KILLERS). It's really the cops' story, and James Gandolfini and John Travolta are used just as they should be in this movie, and that's the best part of it. Best of all, the use of color, period detail, and the cops' interesting characters set the mood for this mystery, a very different experience than the black and white "cinema-verite" look of HONEYMOON KILLERS.