Lonely Hearts
Encyclopedia
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
.
) 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.
. Portions were filmed in the historic Riverside
district west of Downtown, while additional shooting occurred in nearby Fernandina
and Amelia Island
. 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 generated a $3.28 million influx to the region.
on April 30, 2006. Following this the film had a screening at the Jacksonville Film Festival on May 18, 2006. 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. Critical reaction was mixed, and the film has a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
was released by Sony on July 31, 2007, although it was available for rental in several countries since late 2006.
Raymond Fernandez
Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck became known as "The Lonely Hearts Killers" after their arrest and trial for serial murder in 1949. Between 1947 and 1949 they are believed to have killed as many as twenty women...
" of the 1940s, Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez
Raymond Fernandez
Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck became known as "The Lonely Hearts Killers" after their arrest and trial for serial murder in 1949. Between 1947 and 1949 they are believed to have killed as many as twenty women...
. The story of Beck and Fernandez was also the subject of the 1970 film The Honeymoon Killers
The Honeymoon Killers
The Honeymoon Killers is a 1970 American film written and directed by Leonard Kastle, and starring Shirley Stoler and Tony Lo Bianco. It tells the story of Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez, the notorious "lonely hearts killers" who murdered at least 12 women in the 1940s...
, directed by Leonard Kastle
Leonard Kastle
Leonard Gregory Kastle was an opera composer, librettist, and director, though he is best known as the writer/director of The Honeymoon Killers, his only venture into the cinema, for which he did all his own research. He was educated at the Curtis Institute of Music studying under opera composer...
and the 1996 film Deep Crimson
Deep Crimson
Deep Crimson is a 1996 Mexican crime film directed by Arturo Ripstein, written by Paz Alicia Garciadiego and starring Regina Orozco and Daniel Giménez Cacho...
, directed by Arturo Ripstein
Arturo Ripstein
Arturo Ripstein y Rosen is a Mexican film director.-Life and career:Ripstein got his break into movies working as an uncredited assistant director for Luis Buñuel. In 1965, he directed his first feature, Tiempo de Morir...
.
Plot
Raymond Fernandez (Jared LetoJared Leto
Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
) is a con man
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
who meets single, rich women through personal ads
Personal advertisement
A personal or personal ad is an item or notice traditionally in the newspaper, similar to a classified ad but in nature. In British English it is also commonly known as an advert in a lonely hearts column. With its rise in popularity, the World Wide Web has also become a common medium for...
. Upon meeting Martha Beck (Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek
Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
), 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
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
) and Detective Hildebrandt (James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini
James J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...
) are the homicide detectives who try to bring the couple to justice.
Other
Director Todd Robinson is the grandson of Elmer C. Robinson, the character played by Travolta.Cast
- Jared LetoJared LetoJared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
as Raymond Martinez Fernandez - Salma HayekSalma HayekSalma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
as Martha Beck - John TravoltaJohn TravoltaJohn Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
as Elmer C. Robinson - James GandolfiniJames GandolfiniJames J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...
as Charles Hildebrandt - Bailee MadisonBailee MadisonBailee Madison is an American actress. She is most famous for her role in the 2007 film adaption of Katherine Paterson's Newbery Medal-winning novel Bridge to Terabithia in which she plays May Belle Aarons, the younger sister of Jesse Aarons. She films a webshow with her babysitter and fellow...
as Rainelle Downing - Laura DernLaura DernLaura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
as Rene - Scott CaanScott CaanScott Andrew Caan is an American actor. He stars in the CBS television series Hawaii Five-0, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe award. He is the son of actor James Caan.-Early life:...
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, FloridaJacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. Portions were filmed in the historic Riverside
Springfield, Jacksonville, Florida
Springfield is a historic neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida, located to the north of downtown. Established in 1869, it experienced its greatest growth from the early 1880s through the 1920s...
district west of Downtown, while additional shooting occurred in nearby Fernandina
Fernandina Beach, Florida
Fernandina Beach is a city in Nassau County in the state of Florida in the United States of America and on Amelia Island. It is a part of Greater Jacksonville and is among Florida's northernmost cities. The area was first inhabited by the Timucuan Indian tribe...
and Amelia Island
Amelia Island
Amelia Island is one of the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands that stretches along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. It is long and approximately 4 miles wide at its widest point. Amelia Island is situated off the coast in Nassau County,...
. 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
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
and Ocala, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
and the state of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
for the film. The film consisted of 218 local technicians, actors and actresses, and 833 extras that generated a $3.28 million influx to the region.
Release and reception
Lonely Hearts premiered in the U.S. at the Tribeca Film FestivalTribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
on April 30, 2006. Following this the film had a screening at the Jacksonville Film Festival on May 18, 2006. 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
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
by Roadside Attractions in the U.S. on April 13, 2007. It was available to watch on Clickstar on-demand
ClickStar
ClickStar was a broadband movie distribution company founded by actor Morgan Freeman and film producer Lori McCreary of Revelations Entertainment. ClickStar launched on December 15, 2006 under the leadership of interim CEO James J. Ackerman and Chairman/Co-Founder Lori McCreary. The company is no...
shortly after its domestic release.
The film earned $188,565 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and $2,148,095 in the rest of the world, for a combined gross of $2,336,660. Critical reaction was mixed, and the film has a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
DVD release
The Region One DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released by Sony on July 31, 2007, although it was available for rental in several countries since late 2006.