| Lonely Hearts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Todd Robinson |
| Written by | Todd Robinson |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography |
|
| Edited by | Kathryn Himoff |
| Music by | Mychael Danna |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18 million[1] |
| Box office | $2.5 million |
Lonely Hearts is a 2006 Americanneo-noircrimethriller film directed and written byTodd Robinson. It is aneo-noir based on the true story of the notorious "Lonely Hearts Killers" spree killing of the 1940s, Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez.[2] The story of Beck and Fernandez was also the subject of the 1970 filmThe Honeymoon Killers, directed byLeonard Kastle and the 1996 filmDeep Crimson, directed byArturo Ripstein.
Conman Raymond Fernandez (Jared Leto) defrauds rich women throughpersonal ads, and meets Martha Beck (Salma Hayek) who joins Raymond in his schemes, posing as his sister.They begin traveling the country, murdering over a dozen women who respond to their ads. Homicide detectives Robinson (John Travolta) and Hildebrandt (James Gandolfini) track them down and bring them to justice.
Filming began on March 21, 2005, with the majority of shooting taking place on location in and around historic venues inJacksonville, Florida.[3][4] Portions were filmed in the historicSpringfield district north of Downtown. The scene of the bungalow court was filmed at "Dancey Terrace" (Redell Street) which was at the time vacant but is now being restored.[5] Additional shooting occurred in nearbyFernandina andAmelia Island.[6] Several scenes were shot in the Davenport Hotel inSpokane, Washington. Shots of the famous fireplace and Peacock Lounge can be seen in the background.
Jacksonville competed withOrlando andOcala, Florida, and the state ofLouisiana for the film. The film crew consisted of 218 local technicians, actors, and actresses, and 833 extras who generated a $3.28 million influx to the region.[7]
Lonely Hearts premiered in the U.S. at theTribeca Film Festival on April 30, 2006. Following this the film had a screening at theJacksonville Film Festival on May 18, 2006.[8] The film was given a staggered release internationally throughout the final quarter of 2006 and into 2007.Lonely Hearts was scheduled to be given alimited release by Roadside Attractions in the U.S. on April 13, 2007. It was available to watch onClickstar on-demand shortly after its domestic release.
The film earned $188,565 in theUnited States andCanada, and $2,330,589 in the rest of the world, for a combined gross of $2,519,154.[9]
Critical reaction was mixed. On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film has a 48% approval rating from 42 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Several genres and plotlines intertwine inLonely Hearts but don't connect, creating an uneven and unsatisfying film."[10]
TheRegion OneDVD was released bySony on July 31, 2007, although it was available for rental in several countries since late 2006.[citation needed]
