I thought I had written all there was to, about "Cold Case." But, when I inadvertently caught the end of "Lonely Hearts," which I don't believe I wrote about first time around, as this did not make my Top Ten Episodes List, I felt the need to write about it, as it depicts something rarely shown.
The loneliness of the obese spinster.
Obesity has been with us forever. Recently, some bimbo excuse for a journalist was criticized for saying the show "Mike And Molly" glorifies the obese. To which I say, the only thing wrong with the show is it is played too broadly, bordering on camp. The fact that the couple are full figured is hopeful; as Mama Cass told Michele Phillips, "Fat girls need love, too, Michele," and there is nothing wrong with putting a positive spin on full figured love, as this show does.
But spinster loneliness, from Tennessee Williams, to Donna Reed in "It's A Wonderful Life," to Judith Evelyn as Miss Lonelyhearts, in Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window," back in 1954, was always shown by painfully skinny, dessicated looking, withdrawn women. But something changed that.
Those in the know, watching this episode, either back in 2006, when first aired, or even today, can see, from the title alone, that it is based on the case of "The Lonelyhearts Killers," whose story was definitively told in the 1970 cult classic, "The Honeymoon Killers," starring Shirley Stoler as Martha Beck and Tony Lo Bianco, as Raymond Fernandez.
In this 2006 episode, they are called Martha Puck and Ramon Delgado. Emily Nelson plays Martha, and Bruno Campos, plays Ramon Delgado.
Martha Puck is seen as one of life's losers, who knows it. She sits in parks, and reads cheap romance novels, and you know she is a foodie. When she and Ramon meet, he first sees her as a potential victim, one of the lonely women he can murder and acquire money from. But he manages to see beneath Martha's exterior, and, in bringing her out, the otherwise good natured Martha becomes accomplice to a killer, until a rival for Ramon's affections, Eugenia Karpathian, played more by Mary-Pat Green as a beans n' franks lesbian, rather than a lonely, obese spinster, hunts Martha down, killing her.
Emily's performance here gives sympathy to Martha Puck. Mary-Pat Green plays Eugenia more like the real Martha Beck--ugly and sadistic. The real Martha Beck was hot to trot, and had two children by the time she met Fernandez. She worked as a nurse, for a time, at Pensacola Children's Hospital, where she probably dumped the kids, who were cramping her style. No maternal heart for Martha Beck; she was a cold slab of bitch, caring only for Raymond and money!!!!!!!!!!!
Martha Puck had scruples. It was only when she had enough of this killing and taking advantage of the lonely, as once she was, and threatens to turn Ramon in, that Eugenia gets word of this, hunts down, and kills Martha.
The end sequence of the episode underlines the theme of pathos of obese spinsters, seldom dealt with in drama.
The music used in this sequence is "Heart Alone," and it used effectively. What stands out here is not just one, but three persons, see ghosts in this scene. The first is Nick Vera, played by Jeremy Ratchford, who, now reading one of the cheap, romantic novels Martha once read, sees the ghost of one of Martha's victims, in a bridal gown. The look both give each other underscores obese spinster loneliness, as Nick is a full figured guy himself. While clearing out Martha's apartment (or is it Ramon's), John Stillman, as John Finn, sees the ghost of Ramon. But it is, of course, Lily, who gets the most poignant moment. While strolling by a Philly park, on a gorgeous Spring day, she sees, in that park, a gathering place for the lonely, Martha's ghost, happily sitting by herself, reading one of her romance novels. She smiles at Lily, thanking her for justice, and I cried here, knowing justice was done, but Martha was at peace, forever happy as she is now, having paid the price for her desperation for love with her morals, and then her life.
Here it is, darlings. Emily nails it, as Martha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"The Promise" is another episode, dealing with the loneliness of obese women. But the end results there are even more tragic.
"Lonely Hearts" is worth a second look, girls, for the points it underscores!
Spinster loneliness is not just for the thin, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of my favorite episodes. Just watched it 2 days ago.
ReplyDeleteJlmc62,
ReplyDeleteIt is a heartbreaker. Somehow, in
spite of what she did, I was able to forgive Martha.
When younger, I used to sit in parks and read books, too.