IMDb > Lonely Hearts (1982) > IMDb user comments

IMDb user comments for
Lonely Hearts (1982) More at IMDbPro »

Filter: Hide Spoilers:
Index 6 comments in total 

25 out of 38 people found the following comment useful :-
"Lonely Hearts" won the Best Film award from the Australian Film Institute..., 18 December 2005
8/10
Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

While many Australian directors of the '70s and '80s repeatedly turned to period nostalgia, broad satire and Hollywood-derived thrillers, Paul Cox moved on a more personal path, quietly exploring troubled romantic relationships in modern, middle-class suburbia…

After years of making (mostly short) experimental films, Cox attracted the attention of a wider public with "Kostas," a touching account of a Greek-immigrant taxi-driver's love for an Australian divorcée… Invalidated by obviousness in its portrait of class and racial prejudice, it nevertheless paved the way for "Lonely Hearts." Again an engaging romance – this time between a middle-aged piano tuner and a shy and frigid bank clerk, introduced by computer-dating – the film's emotional honesty was heightened by a fine comedy and by a penetrating awareness of repressive parental pressures: exerting their right to live together, the lovers expectedly win their freedom…

Was the above comment useful to you?

18 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
A love story for the rest of us., 6 January 2002
8/10
Author: SherryT from Wilmington DE USA

I saw this movie nearly twenty years ago now, and I'm still wishing that I had a copy.

I'm not going to say much about the plot, because it's actually a very simple one. Two slightly older, slightly less than attractive people begin to have feelings for each other. Both have difficulties in social situations, and neither has a lot of experience with dating or with interacting with members of the opposite sex. The movie is kind of a duet of romantic motion: forward, backward, a mis-step, a detour away from the path to a relationship, treated with great sensitivity and affection for the main characters.

I wish more people knew about this film. It was such a refreshing contrast to the usual formula of two gorgeous people eyeing each other across a room and instantly having an affair. Hollywood does what Hollywood does. Lonely Hearts shows us a slice of life.

Was the above comment useful to you?

1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A Well Worth Watching Movie, 8 November 2008
9/10
Author: Andi from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

An excellent and gentle movie with a simple plot that has you hoping that everything will work out well for the main characters.

Works well as a tvmovie which is where I first saw it and was then fortunate enough to find it as a discard at my local video store and thus obtain my own copy which I still watch from time to time.

Well written and with a very gentle sense of humour the plot is simple straightforward and sweet, who could ask for more? Hughes and Kaye and very well cast as the main characters and well supported by others, watch out for Norman's brother in law Bruce, he adds a droll hilarity to various episodes as does theatre director George

Was the above comment useful to you?

1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Beautiful movie, 6 November 2007
10/10
Author: lee nicholson (dolemite72) from middlesbrough, UK

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

LONELY HEARTS is the story of a shy retiring piano tuner, Peter (the late, great Norman Kaye) who, after living with his mother all his 50 years, finds life a lonely place, when she passes away. This toupee wearing Shy-guy (with only his dog for companion) is willing to make up for lost time, so he enrols in a dating agency, who (after taking his money, in a scene that's nothing but legitimate blackmail) give him a contact.....the equally shy and timid Patricia (who is roughly 10 or so years younger than Peter) and so begins a courtship that is equally cringe-worthy, as it is beautiful.

The movie isn't all tears and sadness, as director Paul Cox injects his usual sly wit to proceedings, and finds the humour in our everyday lives and insecurities (most notably, the movie pokes fun at the 'luvvie' world of 'amateur dramatic theatre groups') When all is said and done, the couple go through the usual ups-and-downs (no thanks to Patricia's puritanic parents) but it's the honesty of the performers, and their performance, that sets this movie apart from the usual 'hollywood' garbage (nice to see a movie without any male or female supermodels) The end sequence, with a degraded and desperate Peter, sat in his kitchen (toupee removed, and probably better for it) unaware that his (feared lost) love, Patricia is outside, always brings a tear to my eye.....beautiful (one-of-a-kind) stuff.

Was the above comment useful to you?

7 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Forgettable, 31 January 2006
2/10
Author: Michael C from United States

After watching two of his films (the other being INNOCENCE), I simply cannot understand why Paul Cox is such an acclaimed director. I find his work uninspiring, wooden and dull. Lonely HEARTS is an insipid, slow, disjointed and uninteresting story. It is not a love story; there is no spark between the two principal characters. Things happen in the film without any explanation. The acting is average at best. The script is utterly empty. How did this win Australia's equivalent of the Academy Award for Best Picture?? Comes off as a second-rate TV movie.

I now see two recurring themes in these Paul Cox films: keyboard skills and rebound. INNOCENCE: an organist hops into the sack with his old girlfriend because he misses his deceased wife. LONELY HEARTS: a piano tuner hits the dating scene after his mother dies. I do not know what Mr. Cox's reasons are for using these themes but, from any angle, he is not a good storyteller.

Was the above comment useful to you?

8 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
Dull dysfunctional relationship of dull dysfunctional people, 4 September 2003
3/10
Author: (cinemabitch) from Colorado

In short, this was a slow, measured study of a romance between dull dysfunctional characters. Without giving anything away (there is not a lot to give away, I'm afraid), we watch older characters try to have a relationship in spite of their dysfunctions. Admittedly, this type of slow moving study is probably my least favorite genre.

However, it was well acted and the story ernest. I totally believed the characters were boring and had personal problems. The problem is that I wouldn't want to watch them.

Not my cup of tea, anyway.

Was the above comment useful to you?

Add another comment

Related Links

Amazon.com summary Ratings Awards
Newsgroup reviews External reviews Plot keywords
Main details Your user comments Your vote history