In the late 40s, Raymond Fernandez (Jared Leto) is a hustler who cons rich women. He meets damaged Martha Beck (Salma Hayek). They become the notorious "Lonely Hearts Killers" who rob lonely widows using personal ads and then kill them. Robinson (John Travolta) and Hildebrandt (James Gandolfini) are homicide detectives. The killers eventually confess to twelve murders in total.

The cast is first rate. There is enough production value. However, writer/director Todd Robinson fails to generate any intensity for me. I think the most compelling characters are Fernandez and Beck. I would have like them to lead. Travolta and Gandolfini are great actors but I'm not fascinated by their characters. Following both sets of characters simply divides the attention of the audience.

In the late 40's, the swindler Raymond Martinez Fernandez (Jared Leto) seduced lonely women to steal their possessions. When he meets the deranged Martha Beck (Salma Hayek),they fall in love for each other. With the jealous Martha posing as if she were his sister, the crook Ray seduces and kills other women. Two New York Detectives - Elmer C. Robinson (John Travolta) and Charles Hildebrandt (James Gandolfini) - chase the sociopaths, but without having the evidence of a body. In the end of 40's, the couple is arrested and sentenced to death, being electrocuted in March, 1951 in Sing Sing.

"Lonely Hearts" is a simple story based on a true event supported by a great cast and excellent cinematography and costumes. The story of the "Lonely Hearts Killers" is violent and a flag for those pro-death penalty sentence. Cold blood killers like Raymond and Martha do not deserve to have a second chance in a society of human beings. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Fugitivos" ("The Runaways")

Which is not the fault of the cast. James Gandolfini and S. Caan do have really great moments together (although you would like to see more of them ... especially Gandolfini). Jared Leto and Salma Hayek are great too. The only one I wasn't entirely convinced with was J. Travolta!

A stronger lead would have helped enormously, because you don't get to spend so much time with the characters. Subplots do spice up the story, but they're mostly not entirely convincing too. That leaves you with the main plot, which does feel like a crime noir, but it's not as good as it could be. I can't explain that, without going into details and spoiling some of the stuff, so I will leave it at that!