EASTWOOD SEIZES THE `POWER' IN KINKY, WELL-ACTED THRILLER.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Critic

Not only Alfred Hitchcock's touch, but the perverse, gonzo Clint Eastwood of ``Tightrope'' and ``The Gauntlet's'' fingerprints are all over Clint's new political thriller, ``Absolute Power.'' But only his prints, not his full grasp.

It's a half-step return to the kind of preposterous, kinky entertainments Eastwood churned out, with no apologies, back before he became the most sensitive film artist on the planet. Not that I'd trade today's often brilliant Clint for the unpredictably outrageous one of old. Both, however, are preferable to the surprisingly dispassionate craftsman who gradually asserts

more and more control over ``Absolute Power.''

Eastwood's not corrupted absolutely by his latest directing effort, nor has he made anything with a passing resemblance to a bad film. It's just one that loses steam as it unfolds, which is particularly disappointing so soon after he starred in the similarly set, much more gripping ``In the Line of Fire.''

Still, this presidential suspense story offers up a fine batch of classic Clintisms (not to be confused with tedious Clintonisms), like clenched-teeth catch phrases that can't be quoted in a family publication and a superb inciting sequence that's a voyeur's worst nightmare.

Eastwood's master burglar Luther Whitney has broken into the Potomac estate of a wealthy kingmaker and just about cleaned out the walk-in safe when he hears voices in the deserted mansion. Hiding behind the vault's two-way mirror, he witnesses a drunken liaison between the rich man's much younger wife and President Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman). The couple's love play soon becomes more slap than tickle, the woman gets angry, the president gets meaner, a letter-opener is brandished and shots ring out.

Within minutes, chief of staff Gloria Russell (Judy Davis in a hilarious parody of someone made literally woozy by power) and two ominous Secret Service agents (Scott Glenn and Dennis Haysbert) are cleaning up the crime scene, making it look like, you guessed it, a burglar killed the woman.

Luther, of course, escapes with an incriminating piece of evidence, dodges the White House's attempts to squelch him (he's a master of disguise too, don't you know), and is about to safely split town when, seeing the president commiserating with his widower friend (E.G. Marshall) on TV, decides to bring the creep down.

From this point, William Goldman's very loose adaptation of David Baldacci's novel grows increasingly unbelievable while, conversely, Eastwood sets about replacing style and idiosyncratic flavor with increasingly straightforward, dialogue-dependent storytelling. It's like he suddenly contracts a case of implausibility denial.

None of this prevents Eastwood from drawing wonderful performances out of a terrific cast, though. Top turns come in from Davis and Glenn, Laura Linney as Luther's resentful daughter, Ed Harris as the cop who deduces that the thief isn't just a suspect, and Eastwood himself as the steely, witty, fundamentally moral criminal genius.

The only actor who doesn't register strongly is, unexpectedly, Hackman, who won an Oscar the last time he was a villain for Eastwood in ``Unforgiven.'' He plays the president as a guy whose personal governor has not only been completely corrupted by power, but whose personality has become a casualty as well.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Absolute Power'' (R; violence, sex, language).

The stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Judy Davis, Scott Glenn, Dennis Haysbert and E.G. Marshall.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Clint Eastwood. Written by William Goldman, based on David Baldacci's novel. Produced by Eastwood and Karen Spiegel. Released by Columbia Pictures.

Running time: Two hours, one minute.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Three Stars.

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Photo

Photo: Clint Eastwood plays a thief who has information that could destroy the president in ``Absolute Power.''