Chris O’Donnell’s Sensitivity Shows In ‘Circle’

For such a young actor, Chris O’Donnell has put together a smart body of work.

Check him out as the pained elder son of Jessica Lange in “Men Don’t Leave” (1990). Or as the young-but-doomed heartthrob in “Fried Green Tomatoes” (1991).

As the young college student caught in the trap of having to babysit a blind ex-Army officer (Al Pacino), he was the best thing about “Scent of a Woman” (1992). As D’Artagnan in the Disney remake of “Three Musketeers” (1994), he was at least as photogenic as co-stars Keifer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen and Oliver Platt.

This summer saw him star in two movies, and in the process he displayed both sides of his appeal. He played Drew Barrymore’s lover in “Mad Love,” and he was Val Kilmer’s sidekick Robin in “Batman Forever.”

But it was his sensitive side that got the most work in last winter’s minor hit “Circle of Friends.” Something of a surprise choice to play an Irish big man on campus, O’Donnell was smart enough to avoid the one problem that gives many actors trouble: affecting an accent.

O’Donnell got more out of doing less, softening his brogue to a slight burr. That allowed the small film to gently work the landscape that is typically involved with either leprechaun magic or Belfast violence without any American Movie Star Overkill.

“Circle of Friends” follows the life of Dublin university student Benny (Minnie Driver) and her two best women friends. Not typically the kind of woman who would attract the campus stud, Benny can’t believe her luck when Jack (O’Donnell) falls in love with her.

What follows is safe and fairly predictable, but the characters are fittingly complex and the performances suited to fit them. Especially O’Donnell’s. *** Rated PG-13.

The Quick and the Dead

***

If Chris O’Donnell (see above) has proven over the past several years to be a refreshing screen presence, then so has Russell Crowe - although in a completely different way.

Active in Australian cinema, Crowe is familiar mostly to art-house fans, and mostly as a dark presence. You can see him as an ambitious company man in “The Efficiency Expert” (1992, opposite Anthony Hopkins) and as a sociopathic neo-nazi in “Romper Stomper” (1992). He changed pace to play a gay man living with his father in “The Sum of Us” (1994).

You can see him as a killer computer creation in “Virtuosity,” which is now playing in theaters. But he made his American debut in the neo-Spaghetti Western “The Quick and the Dead,” which is one good thing you can say about Sharon Stone. She may not be much of an actress, but she sure looks good in chaps, and she has an apparent eye for talent (word is she insisted on casting Crowe in this film).

Stone here portrays a woman so bent on revenge that she challenges the likes of Gene Hackman, Leonardo DiCaprio (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”) and Crowe in a gunfight competition. Crowe, not to give too much away, is a sympathetic character - a killer-turnedpreacher.

Sam Raimi (“Dark Man”) directs in the style of the late Sergio Leone. And while he might not rank in Leone’s league, his playful touch is both evident and welcomed throughout. As is Crowe’s.

Rated R.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: What’s new to view Available this weekend: “Tall Tale” (Disney), “Heavyweights” (Disney), “Circle of Friends” (HBO), “Top Dog” (IVE), “Tank Girl” (MGM/UA), “Pebble and the Penguin” (MGM/UA), “The Langoliers” (Republic). Available on Tuesday: “Candyman 2” (PMV), “The Mangler” (New Line).