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Lonely Hearts
Directed by	Todd Robinson
Produced by	Holly Wiersma Boaz Davidson
Written by	Todd Robinson
Starring	John Travolta Salma Hayek Jared Leto James Gandolfini Laura Dern Scott Caan Alice Krige
Music by	Mychael Danna
Cinematography	Mark Kohl, Peter Levy
Editing by	Kathryn Himoff
Distributed by	Roadside Attractions Samuel Goldwyn Films Millennium Films
Release date(s)	21 October 2006 (Taiwan) 13 April 2007 (USA)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Lonely Hearts is a 2006 American film directed and written by Todd Robinson. It is based on the true story of the notorious "Lonely Hearts Killers" of the 1940s, Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez. The story of Beck and Fernandez was also the subject of the 1970 film The Honeymoon Killers, directed by Leonard Kastle, and the 1996 film Deep Crimson, directed by Arturo Ripstein.

Plot

Raymond Fernandez (Jared Leto) is a con man who meets single, rich women through personal ads. Upon meeting Martha Beck (Salma Hayek), the two decide to join forces, and begin travelling the country, eventually murdering at least 12 women who responded to their ads. Detective Robinson (John Travolta) and Detective Hildebrandt (James Gandolfini) are the homicide detectives who try to bring the couple to justice.

The director, Todd Robinson, is the grandson of Elmer C. Robinson, the character played by Travolta. The scrapbook in the opening credits left by the director's grandmother before she killed herself was the actual scrapbook that she kept before her death.

Cast

• John Travolta as Elmer C. Robinson
• James Gandolfini as Charles Hildebrandt
• Salma Hayek as Martha Beck
• Jared Leto as Raymond Martinez Fernandez
• Bailee Madison as Rainelle Downing
• Laura Dern as Rene
• Scott Caan as Detective Reilly

Development and production

Filming began on March 21, 2005, with the majority of shooting taking place on location in and around historic venues in Jacksonville, Florida.^[1][2] Portions were filmed in the historic Springfield district north of Downtown, while additional shooting occurred in nearby Fernandina and Amelia Island.^[3] Several scenes were shot in the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Washington. Shots of the famous fireplace and Peacock Lounge can be seen in the background.

Jacksonville competed with Orlando and Ocala, Florida and the state of Louisiana for the film. The film consisted of 218 local technicians, actors and actresses, and 833 extras that created a $3.28 million economic impact to the region.^[4]

Release and reception

Lonely Hearts premiered in the U.S. at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 30, 2006. Following this, the film had a screening at the Jacksonville Film Festival on May 18, 2006.^[5] The film was given a staggered release internationally throughout the final quarter of 2006, and into 2007. Lonely Hearts was scheduled to be given a limited release by Roadside Attractions in the U.S. on April 13, 2007. It was available to watch on Clickstar on-demand shortly after its domestic release.

The film earned $188,565 in the United States and Canada, and $2,148,095 in the rest of the world, for a combined gross of $2,336,660.^[6] Critical reaction was mixed, and the film has a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[7]

DVD release

The Region One DVD was released by Sony on July 31, 2007, although it was available for rental in several countries since late 2006.

References

External links

• site
• Lonely Hearts trailer
• Lonely Hearts at the Internet Movie Database
• Lonely Hearts at Allmovie
• CourtTV's Crime Library Case on The Lonely Hearts Killers
• Lonely Hearts at Box Office Mojo
• Lonely Hearts at Rotten Tomatoes