Pulp fiction isn't set in 'Stone'

The adjective "literary" is usually high praise when applied to a movie, though not in the case of "Stone." It's a genre movie that starts off as good, strong pulp, but gradually refines itself into something resembling a profound, philosophical novel.

Bummer! Especially considering the promising premise: Hard-nosed parole officer Jack Mabry (Robert De Niro) gets a tough case in convicted arsonist Gerald "Stone" Creeson (Edward Norton, sporting cornrows and spouting profanities). To sweeten the deal, Stone offers Jack his sexpot wife, Lucetta (Milla Jovovich, all vroom-vroom and kapow). Jack knows he's being played, but it's tough to turn down a woman so, er, accommodating.

Director John Curran sets up the triangle skillfully, but then the script, by Angus MacLachlan ("Junebug"), gets all deep and stuff. Creeson undergoes a spiritual awakening, while Jack begins questioning his own religion. A bee makes regular appearances, perhaps symbolizing death. As for Lucetta, she essentially vanishes from the story.

By the time the two men face off, the film's tension, sexual and otherwise, has evaporated, and what could have been a satisfyingly cheap thrill has devolved into a ponderous mix of Flannery O'Connor and Emily Dickinson. The filmmakers should have left the literature on the shelf.