Lonely Hearts (2007)

Martha Beck (Hayek) and Raymond Fernandez (Leto) were America's notorious "Lonely Hearts Killers." Their lethal scam was simple; they would swindle and then viciously murder lovelorn war widows who would answer their personal ads in which Ray would describe himself as a sexy Latin Lover. Ironically, Ray's initial introduction to Martha was as a prospective mark. But when they met, it was love at first sight, perhaps as a result of their penchant for kinky sex and their mutual love for duplicity and easy money. With Martha posing as Ray's sister, they bilked elderly spinsters and widows of their savings and then viciously murdered them in a bloodbath of sexual frenzy. When they were arrested, Martha and Ray confessed to 12 killings, although it is believed the actual number is closer to 20. At their sensational trial, Martha and Ray cooed, held hands and seemed as though they could not get enough of each other. Their plea of not guilty by reason of insanity was rejected, and on August 22, 1949, the homicidal lovers were sentenced to death. After numerous appeals, they were electrocuted on March 8, 1951, side-by-side in Sing Sing prison.
 
"...a captivating look at the dynamics that turn Fernandez and Beck into serial killers."  Alex Chun, Los Angeles Times
"...a riveting thriller."  Ronnie Scheib, Variety
 


Editor's Note

LONELY HEARTS is the brutal retelling of the true-life tale of Martha Beck (Salma Hayek) and Raymond Fernandez (Jared Leto), a murderous grifter couple who chose their victims via the personal ads of local papers. It was one of the more salacious crime sprees of the late 1940s, and it made a legend out of Long Island police detective Elmer C. Robinson, the grandfather of the film's director, Todd Robinson.

The killers' story is certainly one worthy of being retold, rife as it is with sex, violence, tough cops, and con games. Director Robinson looks to vintage crime films as well the cinematic grandeur of Terrence Malick's BADLANDS for his visual aesthetics. It's a combination that works nicely, as nary a detail looks out of place--from the natty fedoras worn by detectives Robinson (John Travolta) and Hildebrandt (James Gandolfini) to the big slabs of Detroit steel that everyone drives. The film also does a nice job of evoking the simultaneous sense of possibility and anxiety in post-WWII America, showing all the characters in one state of transition or another. Robinson, for example, is dealing with the loss of his wife to suicide, an event that fuels much of his obsession with catching the killers. In fact, the types of loss that LONELY HEARTS grapples with are all the result of brutal violence, and Robinson doesn't shy away from the gruesome details of those acts, many of which fall to Selma Hayek. Her portrayal of Martha Beck is one of the more frightening examples of the classic femme fatale. She is positively psychotic, yet smolders with sexuality. She is both violent and stunningly voluptuous, and her jealous rages inevitably end in grotesque, blood-splattered cocktails of sex and horror. LONELY HEARTS' pulp vision is rendered artistically, and Robinson is able to coax solid performances from his actors (particularly Hayek, and also Gandolfini, if only because the viewer forgets who Tony Soprano is for 100 minutes). In general, fans of classic detective films and neo-noirs will find much to enjoy here.