FIND ME GUILTY

Sidney Lumet's cockeyed courtroom Mafia drama, based on a real RICO case involving New Jersey's Lucchese family, has the misfortune to open just as Tony Soprano is back in our living rooms. Comparisons are inevitable, and while Lumet tries to craft a humanistic drama out of the story of one colorful mobster - Jackie DiNorscio, who chose to defend himself - Guilty is more akin to Law and Order, a two-hour skitter across the big picture with little moral introspection. Mostly your attention will be diverted by Vin Deisel, the alpha-male action star, who here dons a bad wig and 30 or so pounds to play the goofy, hot-headed DiNorscio. He malaprops his way through his defense, aided occasionally by a sympathetic co-counsel (Peter Dinklage). Deisel's performance is a career stretch that verges on parody, but at least he keeps the energy up in what is otherwise a long, dull slog through the federal court system. Starts Fri., March 31. (AH)