`SQUARE' A THOUGHTFUL STUDY IN CHARACTER COMPLEXITY.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Critic

``Washington Square'' is a thoroughly credible adaptation of Henry James' novel. It inevitably will be compared to ``The Heiress,'' the 1949 film version that earned Olivia de Havilland a Best Actress Oscar. But the movies should not be judged against one another; rather, we should appreciate having two such varied interpretations of equivalent intelligence.

The new film, which was directed by Agnieszka Holland (``Europa, Europa,'' ``The Secret Garden''), takes both a more modern and a more faithful approach to James' 1880 novel. It bears smidgens of extra sympathy for the story's two male monsters - cruelly critical parent Austin Sloper (Albert Finney) and fortune-hunter Morris Townsend (Ben Chaplin) - and is humorously indulgent of heroine Catherine Sloper's immense awkwardness.

Jennifer Jason Leigh, an actress never known for pulling punches when a haymaker will do, constructs the young, unattractive social calamity with a relatively subtle, witty repertoire of twitches and stumbles. We feel Catherine's pain, loud and clear, but also are amused by it. Throughout the first half of ``Washington Square,'' Leigh locates a sublime pitch where extreme Method acting meets a Molly Shannon ``Saturday Night Live'' routine.

Of course, as Catherine bitterly matures, Leigh has the goods to turn her emotional and intellectual strengthening into an exhilarating and terrible thing.

The 1850s-set story is so classic that it's bracing to be reminded how much timeless psychological truth James put into it. Holland starts off on what proves to be an atypically showy note, with an elaborate traveling shot from heaven, across the posh New York neighborhood, through the window of Dr. Sloper's townhouse and up the stairs to where his wife has just died delivering

his only child. Gaudy as this opening is, it also goes a long way toward explaining the world-shattering trauma that's at the root of Sloper's paternal tyranny.

All her life, Catherine can do nothing to please her demanding, accomplished dad, although his approval is all she lives for. Dumb and drab, she has no hope of attracting an eligible beau, either - until, that is, she does. Townsend has neither means nor prospects, but his attentions naturally enchain her lonely heart. Dad instantly smells a rat and is not gentle in expressing his doubts to either Catherine or Townsend.

Yet Catherine's two aunts, the romantic widow Lavinia (Maggie Smith, looking cadaverous and meddling hilariously) and the sensible, satisfied Elizabeth Almond (Judith Ivey), both understand that an attraction based on finances is better than no attraction at all.

Here is where ``Washington Square'' departs most determinedly from ``The Heiress.'' It makes Catherine less of a fool overall and a more honest rascal out of Townsend. Without undercutting the feminine martyrdom and anger that have always been the story's grappling hooks, it lets everyone off with a few extra shreds of complexity.

Holland and production designer Allan Starski create a rich and sumptuous period atmosphere - dark woods, plush wallpaper, tetched servants - on a small, intimate scale. But they've also correctly noted that elaborate costumes and proper-looking carriages will always be secondary to James' canny character insights.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Washington Square'' (PG; sex).

The stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Albert Finney, Ben Chaplin, Maggie Smith, Judith Ivey.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Agnieszka Holland. Written by Carol Doyle, based on Henry James' novel. Produced by Roger Birnbaum and Julie Bergman Sender. Released by Hollywood Pictures.

Running time: One hour, 55 minutes.

Playing: Showcase, Hollywood; Goldwyn Pavilion, West Los Angeles.

Our rating: Three Stars