A DIRECTOR'S `ANIMAL' INSTINCT.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

The standard prison drama gets an infusion of fresh, persuasive detail in ``Animal Factory.''

It doesn't hurt that the film is based on a novel, and co-scripted, by Edward Bunker, the longtime felon turned occasional actor (he was the oldest of the black-suited guys in Quentin Tarantino's ``Reservoir Dogs,'' and does a small bit in this one), who has a wealth of firsthand observation to draw on.

What helps even more is the no-nonsense direction of Steve Buscemi. The well-regarded character actor, who also has a brief role in the movie, is the kind of filmmaker you hope every actor with a camera will be, but few rarely are: instinctually devoted to the unfussy presentation of character truth and lifelike performance.

Having made an impressive feature-directing debut with the similarly straightforward ``Trees Lounge'' and honed his, um, criminal chops helming episodes of TV's ``Oz'' and ``Homicide,'' Buscemi gives us a sense of lived-it prison life - not absent the expected predations and sudden outbursts of violence, but rich with the moment-to-moment calculations required just to get through another day without dying of boredom. Or dying, period.

The third factor that lifts ``Animal Factory'' over the wall of prison movie conventions is its terrific cast, an ensemble that both showcases its two leads and coalesces to create a whole, enclosed world.

Willem Dafoe is the cagey jailbird Earl Copen, head of a small but effective penitentiary gang and an operator who's got the whole penal system, from sympathetic guards to corruptible trustees, wired to his advantage. Of course, Earl's clout goes only so far - getting good seats at institutional entertainments and choice job assignments for his friends, those kinds of things - but part of his survival mechanism is his belief in his own control.

But Earl is a realist, too, and an unfulfilled one at that. When a particularly fresh new piece of meat arrives in the form of Edward Furlong's Ron Decker, a young drug dealer from a privileged family whom the judge and D.A. conspired to make an example of, Earl's tenderer feelings are excited. Not sexually - well, maybe a little - but it's more important for the aging con to mentor the newbie, protect him to the best of his ability and impart the wisdom gathered from many years behind bars.

Of course, the more Earl and his cronies do to ensure Ron's welfare in their world, the more they endanger his chances of returning to the outside where he probably should be. Or maybe he shouldn't; the film is smart enough to suggest that Ron's coarsening might come as naturally to him as it is an outgrowth of his terrible new environment.

Furlong, the former ``Terminator 2'' kid, does a very good job of revealing Ron's fears, emerging strengths and character weaknesses at exactly the points in the story when we need to see them. Several supporting actors do well-seasoned work, including Tom Arnold (!) as a determined rapist, an unrecognizable Mickey Rourke as a drag goddess in her own mind and Seymour Cassell as an understanding cop.

But Dafoe's is the world-class act here. Working that gargoyle face of his to its expressive capacity, he doesn't just act tough intelligence and taciturn regret, he radiates them without the slightest sign of strain. It's natural acting at its subtle, expert best. Always a fine actor, Dafoe finally emerges as a great one this year.

And with ``Animal Factory,'' Buscemi proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that he's one of the few actors who can really direct.

``ANIMAL FACTORY''

(Rated R: violence, drug use, language)

The stars: Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, Mickey Rourke,Tom Arnold.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Steve Buscemi. Written by Edward Bunker and John Steppling, based on Bunker's novel. Produced by Julie Yorn, Elie Samaha, Andrew Stevens and Buscemi. Released by Silver Nitrate.

Running time: One hour, 35 minutes.

Playing: Music Hall, Beverly Hills.

Our rating: Three stars