The Honeymoon Killers

The Honeymoon Killers has earned the unique distinction of being a film released on DVD by Criterion that I DID NOT enjoy. The only others that I've seen that I didn't like were Ratcatcher (Merely decent) and By Brakhage, whose films I saw had little to no artistic value, whatsoever. If this makes me any less of a cinephile, then so be it. I wasn't really expecting much from the Honeymoon Killers, and even then, it let me down.

It's the true story of Martha Beck, an overweight, lonely nurse who joins a Lonely Hearts correspondence club and meets Raymond Fernandez, who just happens to be a conman. She falls head over feet for him, despite his attempts to swindle her, and he soon starts involving her in his schemes, which go awry when Martha's jealousy takes over. That's about it, really. Just pure pulp.

I don't think I've ever seen acting this bad in a major motion picture. Lo Bianco's delivery is unintentionally hysterical in spots, and the rest of the characters are simply grating. Like I said, the story doesn't particularly go anywhere, and you can almost predict what will happen next at any given point.

The Honeymoon Killers has some redeeming qualities, though. I truly felt an understanding for Martha's character in certain spots, and for the most part, she's a well-developed character, but she stands out in that respect. The documentary-style camerawork is very effective, as well. The best part about the film, though, was the fact that no effort was made to pretty up, or romanticize the characters at all. These are sick people that do horrible things, and the viewer feels very little sympathy for them.

I don't know why, but Criterion's disc is surprisingly below their usual standards. The anamorphic transfer is good, for the most part, with nice black and contrast levels. However, the audio is a disgustingly muddled mess. Dialogue was so distorted throughout the film that I needed the subtitles enabled all the way through. I'm hoping that it's the original soundtrack to blame, and not Criterion. The packaging and menus are bloody brilliant, as well.