A string of unlikely events and coincidences set off Night Falls, and Lumet makes them believable the old-fashioned way: through interaction with a screen full of strongly drawn, fully dimensioned, psychologically valid characters.

Lumet (who also wrote the script) seems to feed on lousy cop-precinct furniture, political showboating and confrontations between street-savvy adversaries played by synergic actors. [16May1997 Pg.01.D]

This movie is knowledgeable about the city and the people who make accommodations with it.

One of the most refreshing things about this movie is the manner in which it combines genres in unexpected ways.

Starting with its romantic and inappropriate title, this is an old-fashioned melodrama, the same movie about police corruption and a cultural crisis of morality that Lumet has been making since the 70s, starting with "Serpico".

As satisfying as much of the film is, there are a few missteps, large and small, that may require indulgence on the part of viewers.

Lumet never tires of exploring moral quandaries. But what separates his films from the pack is his appreciation for all perspectives.

Night Falls on Manhattan makes you nostalgic for Lumet's truly first-rate corruption movies, like the great, underrated "Q&A" (1990).

So the promise of a proud director comes to nothing, and all my rooting goes for naught. Maybe, sadly, the metaphoric night that falls on Manhattan has finally begun to descend on Lumet -- and he's going gentle into it.

While the predictable lesson -- that justice isn't cut and dry -- clogs the film's gears by the last reel, at least the first half of the movie has some lively story telling.

That said, what must be added is that, disappointingly, Night Falls on Manhattan doesn't quite add up.

But Night Falls on Manhattan is also oddly listless. It doesn't often live up to the doomy eloquence of its title.

It's good to know that the widely liked but underused Andy Garcia has here a juicy dramatic role he can get his chops into.

Director Sidney Lumet takes another shot at New York City police corruption in his new film, but despite some solid performances, Night Falls on Manhattan fails to deliver the passion of such Lumet classics as "Serpico" and "Prince of the City."