Passion of Mind

Heartening as it is to report that "Passion of Mind" boasts unusually good acting and credible behavior for what is essentially another take on the "Sliding Doors"/"Me, Myself, I" alternate-lives fantasy, there is a nagging pokiness to this sporadically fine film that ultimately proves wearying.

Starring Demi Moore in what many are calling a comeback (her last film was "G.I. Jane" three years ago) and co-written and produced by women's picture specialist Ron Bass ("My Best Friend's Wedding," "Waiting to Exhale," "The Joy Luck Club"), the film plays with the format's conventions intelligently while still retaining the requisite sense of romantic wistfulness.

In a challenging and, for her, unexpectedly accomplished performance, Moore plays Marie, an American widow living with her two young daughters in the gorgeous French countryside, and Marty, a single New York literary agent who lives in a fabulously antiqued loft. When Marie goes to sleep, she dreams into Marty's life, and vice versa.

The trick here is that both personalities are fully aware of their alternate lives and rather enjoying the diversity. Until, that is, she falls in love in both dimensions and, men being men, each guy gets bent out of shape about the nonexistent (as far as they can tell, anyway) competition.

Of course, the guys are, well, dreamboats — a stimulating and attentive writer in Europe (Stellan Skarsgard), a sensitive and attentive money manager in Manhattan (William Fichtner) — which makes it harder for Marie/Marty to choose one over the other. Complicating the whole dilemma is the fact that choosing will force our heroine to face reality and give up the fantasy life, whichever one that may be. Whatever is a gal to do?

Happily, Moore plays much of this existential hooey with sound notes of the absurdity, revealing a subdued but spontaneous sense of humor that we never expected she possessed (especially after seeing her in mirthless comedies like "Striptease"). At the same time, the lockjawed rigidity that Moore brings to most dramatic roles serves her well in this relatively gentle, semi-surreal setting; an actress with less steel might have floated away into inconsequence or whimsy, but Moore grapples us firmly into this possibly mad woman's building crisis. Finally, she works warmth and vulnerability into the performance, another rarity for the actress.

The male leads are also at the top of their respective games, not easy when both are playing too-good-to-be-true fantasy figures. They all keep you going, but that's a tough thing, too, whenever director Alain Berliner paces scenes too slowly or extends them beyond their dramatic length, which is often. Best known for "Ma Vie En Rose," about a little boy who was convinced he should be a girl, the Belgian filmmaker clearly adores romanticized reverie, and he does have a knack for putting daydreams on screen. But Berliner needs to figure out how to do it in a more disciplined way, one that won't risk putting audiences to sleep.

"Passion of Mind" is rated PG-13 for simulated sex and occasional strong language. Running time: 105 minutes.