Point of Origin

HBO films are ordinarily more substantial than this directorial debut from cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, a true-crime docudrama that, apart from some inventive--though overly artsy--visuals, wouldn't be out of place on a low-rent cable network. Ray Liotta stars--with John Leguizamo playing his young partner--as the ace fire investigator assigned to a federal task force assembled to track down a California serial arsonist. Although boasting a strong supporting cast--Colm Feore as an ATF agent, Ronny Cox as the chief, Illeana Douglas as Liotta's mistress--the film's story is so thin and the dialogue by Matthew Tabak so banal that it defeats even these solid thespians; the clichés roll off their tongues no more comfortably than they would an amateur's. Nor is the revelation of the criminal at all surprising, since the concealment of his identity depends on an amazingly poor makeup job. In fact, the snazzy effects and nifty photography are all that set the picture apart from a mediocre episode of a weekly cop series. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)