This movie wasn't a hit. It pretty much sank without a trace, and I don't remember that it even played in the Houston area. The problem couldn't have been the actors. John Travolta and James Gandolfini are the nominal stars as a couple of police detectives, and they do some fine work. Jared Leto and Salma Hayek are, if anything, even better as the Lonely Hearts Killers. The problem couldn't have been the look of the movie, either. It looks great from the title sequence right through to the end.
So that leaves the script. The movie's based on actual events, and it was written and directed by the grandson of the detective played by Travolta. Robinson tries to make the cop's personal life a significant part of the movie (we're all lonely hearts), and it doesn't really work. Leto and Hayek are a lot more interesting. If this were a noir movie, told from the point of view of Leto's character, it would probably have been more interesting. (You might want to check out this movie, by the way. It's based on the same crimes and characters.)
Call it a near miss. It's still well worth watching for the performances and the period details.
3 comments:
I haven't seen it yet but as far as I'm concerned you can't go wrong with Salma.
She's scary as all get-out in this one.
If a John Revolta film tanked you won't hear me complaining. I find him unwatchable.
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