The Honeymoon Killers - Criterion Collection
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Movie Reviews of The Honeymoon Killers - Criterion Collection
Movie Review: Brilliant True Crime
Summary: 5 Stars
The Honeymoon Killers is a brilliant film that wonderfully translates the devious nature and violent crimes of Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck. True to the crimes themselves and remarkably accurate casting make this film quite a treat for those who know the story or want to learn more. (Although, it is not by any means an exact life-to-screen copy of the events.)
I have to agree that the score and B&W format fit this film's feeling perfectly. My only complaint, which I corrected by blaring the volume at points, is the sound is strangely mixed so some dialogue is not in sync and other portions are difficult to hear. But the movie is so great and eerie those blaring screams or ear straining whispers add to the mood of the film. And of course, Criterion Collection extras are just great. The interviews and letters sections are nice.
And I also happen to adore the menu format of an old-time newspaper.
I highly recommend this film (although beware, some of the people I have watched it found it "disturbing" because of the scene with Martha and Janet Fay).
Movie Review: No More Lonely Nights!
Summary: 4 Stars
I first viewed this film in 1980 on an arts network that was then called "Action Plus" (now called Bravo). I thought the film was slow paced and dull at the time. After recently watching the film on IFC, my opinion has changed. This story based on the real life escapades of the most notorious murders in New York State really grows on you. I'm still enthralled by the performance of Shirley Stoler. Not only was her performance of Martha Beck powerful, in the end, it made you feel no empathy for her character. I wish she could have been more successful as an actress (For another great performance by Stoler, check out Lina Wertmueller's "Seven Beauties".). Tony LoBianco is outstanding as the cunning other half, Ray Fernandez. Though dark and disturbing, the film doesn't glamorizes the two criminals. I also thought the use of music added to the drama was also very effective. Though not a horror movie, this film will leave you haunted for days. It show us what people will do in times of loneliness and despair. Movie Review: So much more than just an entertaining sleaze film
Summary: 4 Stars
I had heard of the "Lonely Heart Killers" from which this film is based, and was excited to get my hands on this movie. Criterion usually doesn't mess around with the shallow, mindless exploitation flicks, and this is no exception.
Here we have the tale of Ray Fernandez and Martha Beck, an improbable pair of lovers and con artists. They embark on an atrocious killing spree as they try to squeeze every dollar they can out of lonely, elderly women.
There is genuine depth in the charecterizations depicted here. You get deep inside the head of both these two monstrous villans, while continually being reminded of just how human they really are. It is quite disturbing.
Womanizer Ray just seems to want to sweet talk the older ladies, sleep with them, and take off with their money. Martha, of course, has a problem with this. She constantly watches with a jealous eye, wavering on the brink of complete utter rage. She has an extremely dark past, and possibly depends on her man to keep those demons at bay.
This film progresses with a nice subtlety, no immediate glaring episodes of madness. One simple scene I found truly captivating, Ray goes out to meet one of the ladies and leaves Martha at home. She wallows at home alone in her own insecurities, eating an entire box of chocolates and then falling asleep. There are many other glimpses into her sad little world that are hard to simply shake off.
Both these main characters give terrific, controlled performances. This radiates a much creepier feel than any over-the-top shocker could ever muster. Just brilliant filmmaking.
Movie Review: STOP READING AND BUY THIS NOW!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is turning into one of my favorite movies ever. It is so rich, dark and complex, genuinely shocking and disturbing, well written, well photographed, well acted... I just can't say enough good things about it.
This is also one of those movies that I think it is better to know as little as possible about before seeing it, so if I were you, I would turn the Internet off and go buy it right now. But since I know that if you don't know anything about it, you have no reason to buy it, I will tell you that it is a true crime drama that concerns a very perverse relationship, the bilking of innocents, and elements of very black humor. Okay, stop reading now and go buy it. I'm really serious, you NEED to see this.
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT >>>>>
I have watched this movie four times now, and it just keeps getting richer each time. Though it may not always seem like it, every single element is in place and the script and direction are as tight as they can possibly be. The remarkable thing about this movie is how the characters--ALL the characters, not just the main ones--are so richly delineated, and yet at the center of the film some puzzling ambiguities remain. What is it that Ray really sees in Martha? Is it that she says she'll kill herself for him? Or does he simply think he can make more money with an accomplice? And why doesn't Martha realize that what he's doing to all these other women is also happening to HER? How many times can she hear that he'll marry her after their next job?
There are scenes that stand out for their content, and scenes that stand out for their technique. Among the former are the scenes with Bunny [Doris Roberts, who later went on to be Ray's mother on Everybody Loves Raymond], who one could argue is responsible for the entire situation. It is she who submits Martha's name to the lonely hearts club, and it is her who actually first tells Raymond that Martha is going to kill herself. Then there is the shocking scene in which Martha leaves her elderly mother at home to die while she runs off to be with Raymond. The mother's bitter rage/sudden reversal and begging/bitter damnation is shocking, true, and desperately pathetic all at once. "Unforgettable" is a word too often applied to movies, but for me this scene is truly unforgettable. And this is only the first 20 minutes!
The performances are also astonishing. Shirley Stoler--I don't even know how well she's acting, because her character is such a powerhouse that it's hard to tell. To me she is utterly convincing. Tony Lo Blanco is a good actor, all narcissism, menace and sociopathy, and the film could not have the impact it does if he was not a LEGITIMATE SEX BOMB [just wait for the swimsuit scene]. He makes it very easy to see why all of these women would fall for him--and why you would still consider staying with him even if you knew what a slime he was.
And then there are all the individual women, each of whom stand out clearly from each other. There is an undercurrent of black humor to the film. You can't help but laugh and marvel at the women because are all so astonishingly pathetic, and yet there is a simultaneous feeling of pity and pain for them, because they're all SO PATHETIC. Of all of them, Mary Jane Higby as Janet Fay stands out for the moving vulnerability of her affection for Ray, the hilarity of the scenes demonstrating her cheapness, the persistence of her arguments during her fight with Martha, and the real terror she seems to be feeling as she begs for her life. The brutality of her murder is truly shocking.
The technique on display in this film is also electrifying. This is said to be Truffaut's favorite American film. I would LOVE to know what Hitchcock thinks about it, as many of the scenes are very Hitchcockian. The shots are often strange and off-kilter, for example, expressing Ray's cunning by showing only his mouth, or placing the character to the extreme right or left of a shot. There are several very long takes that are executed so well you may not even notice. The scene showing just the eyes of Delphine Downing as she watches helpless as Ray and Martha discuss shooting her is one of the highlights of the entire film. And throughout the film the light is either overexposed or perfectly balanced in such a way as to deliver a sense somewhere between menace and documentary. Furthermore, Kastle is able to suffuse the movie with an overwhelming sense of sex and violence, without showing a great deal of either. All the more surprising when one realizes that this is his first and only film.
This really is unlike any film I have ever seen. Everything is perfectly in place and delivers an experience that is both moving, funny, and deeply discomfiting. When you think about the horror and action films of the past 30 years, and all the stories and images they have included, for a film like this to maintain the power to truly shock is quite an achievement. Please, please watch this.
Movie Review: Really unexpected
Summary: 4 Stars
I picked this up thinking - I'm not sure what I was thinking, actually. I guess I thought noir-ish crime drama. French film makers, apparently, really like this, and it's easy to see why. It's stark, honest and miles away from American studio formula. Much more like a European or Japanese film. Very strange at first (I can see why an earlier reviewer though 'John Waters'), this is an involving, compelling film made for almost nothing. If you like "Indie" films, foreign films or the documentary look of films like "In Cold Blood," grab this offbeat winner.