I will give credit to Lonely Hearts where credit is due. This motion picture does a fine job of recapturing the spirit of film noir. As a side effect it, feels a bit derivative but it has exceptional style. The plot line is not so strong.
Writer director Todd Robinson gives us the story of his grandfather Elmer J. Robinson; the detective who went after Ray Fernadez and Martha Beck; a somewhat mixed match couple who went across New York state posing as brother and sister, killing unmarried women and taking their money (after Ray seduced them of course).
Lonely Hearts is convinced that it can give us two stories for the price of one, so it splits into two narratives, one for the good guys and one for the bad guys. This is the single biggest problem with the movie. The bad guy portion takes up too much screen time. It is uninteresting and overdone, with Jared Leto and Salma Hayek giving terrible performances. What I would've liked to see more of is John Travolta become a character in the movie. He doesn't amount to very much, just a body to go inside a nice coat and a hat. He doesn't really come alive until the last couple of scenes, and by then it is too late.
Lonely Hearts may in the end prove enjoyable if film-noir is your cup of tea. While the images here are strong, the material is in need of some polishing and maybe some brains.
Writer director Todd Robinson gives us the story of his grandfather Elmer J. Robinson; the detective who went after Ray Fernadez and Martha Beck; a somewhat mixed match couple who went across New York state posing as brother and sister, killing unmarried women and taking their money (after Ray seduced them of course).
Lonely Hearts is convinced that it can give us two stories for the price of one, so it splits into two narratives, one for the good guys and one for the bad guys. This is the single biggest problem with the movie. The bad guy portion takes up too much screen time. It is uninteresting and overdone, with Jared Leto and Salma Hayek giving terrible performances. What I would've liked to see more of is John Travolta become a character in the movie. He doesn't amount to very much, just a body to go inside a nice coat and a hat. He doesn't really come alive until the last couple of scenes, and by then it is too late.
Lonely Hearts may in the end prove enjoyable if film-noir is your cup of tea. While the images here are strong, the material is in need of some polishing and maybe some brains.