JUST DON'T GET IN EVAN RACHEL WOOD'S WAY.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

'PRETTY PERSUASION'' makes ``Mean Girls'' look like a Girl Scout Jamboree.

It's an astoundingly articulate, utterly unforgiving black comedy about a teenage Satan doll who causes massive havoc in the lives of many dreadful, deserving adults. Even ``Heathers,'' though more violent, found some moral balance by the time it was over. This thing just revels in evil for its own sake.

And it knows how much fun that can be, especially when it's tied to a cultural critique that, though obvious in many ways, is rarely presented in Hollywood or even independent film these days with this much bite and intelligence. Though primarily the story of a scheming Beverly Hills sociopath who'll go to any lengths to achieve her shallow ends, the movie makes constant mockery of materialism, prejudice, celebrity and media. In an uncharacteristically concise and moving way, it even suggests that a society that keeps getting mired in indecisive foreign wars is bound to produce psychic terrorists at home.

Someone like Kimberly Joyce (Evan Rachel Wood). A talkative time bomb in a schoolgirl uniform, the 15-year-old aspiring actress comes off initially as one of those superficial know-it-alls who, to reference another teen girl movie, is actually clueless. But even as she gives the genuinely naive Arab transfer student Randa (Adi Schnall) the grand tour of their private school's campus and her own over-ventilated thoughts, Kimberly can't entirely disguise a keen intellect. Her seething contempt for everyone she considers her inferior or an enemy - a group commonly known as the population of planet Earth - also seeps out.

In a way, you can't blame her for her attitude. Kimberly's father is a rich, anti-Semitic loon, played by James Woods in full detestable flower. Her long-absent mother can't communicate for more than a minute-long cell-phone call, during which she forgets her daughter's age. Even Percy Anderson (Ron Livingston), the teacher she victimizes by falsely accusing him of molestation, actually does have a thing for schoolgirls.

But when we find out what Kimberly is up to, and for what shoddy, selfish purposes, there really is no excuse.

Already one of Hollywood's best bad-girl players, Wood goes way, way beyond the troubled tartlets of ``thirteen'' and ``The Upside of Anger'' this time. Kimberly pursues her cruel intentions with robotic precision but also delights in her own wicked cleverness, a tough juggling act that Wood has no evident trouble keeping up in the air. Though uproariously pretentious about it, Kimberly also is a genuinely talented actress, and speaks reams of tricky dialogue - complicated facets that Wood nails like a master carpenter.

These are obviously elements of a pretty stylized piece. In fact, Skander Halim wrote his screenplay assuming that it would be impossible to film. But Marcos Siega, a music video director, makes an undeniably impressive transition to features with the material.

Impressive but not entirely successful. While he deserves praise for not compromising Halim's relentlessly caustic vision, Siega's film can be bleak beyond even the most cynical viewer's tolerance. That's not necessarily a bad thing artistically, but it lends atonal sameness to the movie that blunts some of the smartest, satirical laughs put on screen all year.

Which doesn't mean he's failed to create a persuasive movie. Just the opposite. Maybe coercive is a better description.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com

PRETTY PERSUASION - Three stars

(Not rated: sex, language, racism, violence, drug use, children in jeopardy)

Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Ron Livingston, Jane Krakowski, James Woods, Elisabeth Harnois, Adi Schnall.

Director: Marcos Siega.

Running time: 1 hr. 44 min.

Playing: Pacific Galleria Stadium 16, Sherman Oaks; Laemmle One Colorado, Pasadena; Laemmle Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Landmark NuWilshire, Santa Monica; Edwards University Town Center 6, Irvine.

In a nutshell: Scorched-earth black comedy about a manipulative Beverly Hills teenager is as smart and brash as they come but may be just too unforgiving for even the most cynical viewer.