Lonely Heartsby Anonymous

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August 03, 2007: LONELY HEARTS tries very hard to evoke the feeling of the 1950s 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 1950s 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. Grady Harp