Lonely
Hearts (2007)
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras:
C- Film: B-
Up until about 10-15 years ago, a stigma was attached to any film
that went directly to video (now DVD) or was barely released to theaters. At
least 90 percent of the time, the stigma held true.
However, given how pathetic movies have generally become
in recent years, going directly to DVD or being barely released in theaters
isn't necessarily a bad thing anymore. Sure, a lot of amazingly crappy
movies still bypass theaters altogether on their way to DVD debuts, but an
amazing amount of irredeemable crap now opens nationwide in
theaters and regularly rakes in a ton of money. In recent
months I've reviewed Seraphim Falls,
Off the Black and The Last Time, all of which played
in a minimal number of theaters before coming to DVD. All are good films
starring big or semi-big names that ended up getting barely released
theatrically not because they were bad, but rather because they were
deemed too hard a sell for today's audiences, who've overdosed on stupid
CGI-fests, needless remakes, obnoxious youth comedies and politically
correct hogwash that's an outright lie. Therefore, going
straight to DVD or playing in only a handful of theaters isn't so much a
reflection of what's good or bad these days, but more likely a barometer
of what won't have mass appeal and which actors and actresses aren't hot enough
to open a movie anymore.
The latest film to fall into this category is Lonely Hearts, a grim period crime
story that opened on a paltry 24 screens in the spring of 2007 after
spending more than a year on the shelf. Even the star combination of John
Travolta, James Gandolfini and Salma Hayek wasn't enough for a major studio to
take a chance on distributing it. That's a shame because as far as period
pieces centered around true crime stories go, it's much better than Brian
De Palma's tepid The Black
Dahlia, which did manage to secure a major studio's
backing and a wide release.
Lonely Hearts is based on the 1940s murders committed
by Ray Fernandez and Martha Beck, both of whom started out as grifters
conning members of the opposite sex through the personal ads. When they
met through a personal ad, the two con artists became lovers and teamed up
to act as brother and sister in order to con various lonely women, leading
to several homicides. Their twisted relationship is also the
subject of The Honeymoon Killers
(1970), a more in-depth examination of the infamous pair which stars Tony Lo
Bianco and Shirley Stoler.
Lonely Hearts alternates between the deranged
couple, balding lothario Fernandez (Jared Leto) and the insanely jealous
Beck (Hayek), and the two Long Island cops (Travolta and Gandolfini)
investigating one of their crimes.
The storyline following Fernandez and Beck's cross-country crime
spree ends up being a lot more absorbing than the more standard one about
the cops. All the stuff thrown in about the Travolta character's personal
life feels extraneous, existing simply to pad the role of the biggest name in
the cast. Still, it's 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.
Sony's DVD of Lonely
Hearts presents the film in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen
with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. The only special features are a
10 minute making-of featurette of Lonely
Hearts and trailers for several other Sony releases.
- Chuck O'Leary
