With a veritable gumbo of a cast, and a story you can really sink your teeth into, it's not at all hard to swallow "Cookie's Fortune."

In fact, you might say it has all the ingredients for cinematic success.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that the film is in the hands of master chef Robert Altman, who combines these parts and uses the right recipe to complete the dish.

All of this ensures that the film isn't nearly as overdone or as half-baked as some of Atlman's more recent efforts (especially "Ready to Wear" and "The Gingerbread Man").

In fact, this low-key dark comedy is a rousing return to form for Altman, whose filmmaking skills are at their best and strongest here.

Though some impatient audiences may have problems with what appears to be sluggish initial pacing, it's a deliberate storytelling move by Altman that is completely in keeping with the film's laid-back Southern setting.

Besides, that decision also allows him to do some character exploration that wouldn't have been possible in a more briskly paced piece.

The story centers around eccentric Jewel Mae "Cookie" Orcutt (Patricia Neal), whose suicide has put a serious crimp in the plans of her estranged niece, aging but ambitious Southern belle Camille Dixon (Glenn Close).

Camille believes Cookie's suicide will cause a family scandal, so she decides to cover up the deed — right down to eating the actual suicide note.

She also solicits help from her weak-willed younger sister, Cora (Julianne Moore), and they use it as an excuse to move into Cookie's mansion.

While Camille's scheme apparently works, it also implicates Cookie's faithful caretaker, Willis (Charles S. Dutton), who is arrested for murder.

However, there are those who

don't believe he could have killed his longtime friend, including Cora's rebellious daughter, Emma (Liv Tyler), who begins poking around the mansion in an attempt to clear Willis of the charges.

As you can probably tell, there's a lot going on, plotwise. But Altman and first-time screenwriter Anne Rapp have a firm grasp on the multitude of story threads. And the way all these loose ends are tied up is a marvel.

Not too surprisingly, the film has Altman's fingerprints all over it. However, it still might not have worked without the cast, which is uniformly excellent. As Camille, Close really chews the scenery — though not to the point of hamminess.

And all of her fellow castmates are all superb. The friendship between Dutton and Tyler's characters is believable, even touching, and Chris O'Donnell is a comic revelation as a dimwitted deputy in love with Emma.

But the real standout is Neal, in a rare, all-too-brief performance. As Cookie, she's so full of life that the film continues to feel her presence throughout.

"Cookie's Fortune" is rated PG-13 for scattered profanities, sexual situations (largely overheard), gore and some gunplay, as well as some stage violence.