'FIERCE PEOPLE' DOESN'T HAVE MUCH INTENSITY.

Byline: BOB STRAUSS

>FILM CRITIC

"Fierce People" boasts a mellow but observant vibe and a forgiving way with characters that most movies would judge, caricature and damn. Then something goes wrong in the telling of it.

It's adapted by Dirk Wittenborn from his own novel, in which the story might have worked better; the film's narrative conceits and horrid revelations seem more suited to the page than the more literal screen.

The actor Griffin Dunne directed, and like his earlier features "Addicted to Love" and "Practical Magic," "Fierce" takes some good literary ideas to some worthwhile places but fumbles the overall story.

Another film with a troubled history of delayed release, "Fierce" is told from the viewpoint of 16-year-old Finn Earl (Anton Yelchin, who was so good -- and older -- earlier this year in "Alpha Dog"). When he's busted in New York trying to buy cocaine for his masseuse mom Liz (Diane Lane), Finn's plans to spend the summer with his anthropologist father in the Amazon are dashed.

Messed up as she is, though, Liz is fundamentally decent. She vows to sober up and, to help facilitate that, wrangles an invite from a wealthy client to spend the summer on his sprawling New Jersey estate. Everyone assumes she's putting out to old Ogden C. Osborne (Donald Sutherland at his sophisticated best) but, confounding the gossips, she is an actual massage therapist, and very good at it.

Still, there's an intriguing mystery there. But young Finn is soon distracted from it by Osborne's accommodating granddaughter Maya (Kristen Stewart) and friendly, hearty-partying grandson Bryce (Chris Evans). Ogden takes the lad into his confidence and under his wise wing, too. And mom is straightening out just fine. Who'd have thought this would turn into the best summer ever?

But you know that whole anthropological angle? Subtly yet ominously, Finn examines his wealthy new friends as if they belonged to an exotic tribe ripe for research. As it turns out, their rituals may have dark underlying meanings unthinkable to ordinary civilized folks. And maybe they haven't accepted Finn as much as he believes.

Or perhaps it has nothing to do with class or family prejudice, and someone's just a freak. The movie seems to want to play the social division card, but its better humanistic instincts undercut that ploy. It's enough to ruin "Fierce People" as an honest character drama, though.

Bob Strauss [phone]

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FIERCE PEOPLE - Two and one half stars

>R: violence, nudity, sex, drug use, language, children in jeopardy.

>Starring: Anton Yelchin, Diane Lane, Donald Sutherland, Kristen Stewart, Chris Evans.

>Director: Griffin Dunne.

>Running time: 1 hr. 47 min.

>Playing: Town Center 5, Encino; Playhouse 7, Pasadena; Regent, Westwood; Criterion 6, Santa Monica.

>In a nutshell: Some nice moments and good acting, but, well, ick.