CLEAN — ** 1/2 — Maggie Cheung, Nick Nolte, James Dennis; rated R (drugs, profanity, brief nudity).

In a better world, Maggie Cheung would be as big a star around the world as her fellow Hong Kong expatriates Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li.

Cheung is every bit as talented an actress and can be every bit as physical as Zhang and Yeoh. And she has definitely taken more chances with her movie projects. While Gong is in the upcoming "Miami Vice," and Zhang and Yeoh were in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and all three were in "Memoirs of a Geisha," Cheung has been doing smaller films, the kind that usually wind up playing the art-house circuit, such as "Irma Vep" and now, "Clean."

While this somber drug-abuse drama contains few surprises — it's pretty much what we've come expect to expect from such material — Cheung's convincing performance as a drug addict is what makes it watchable.

She stars as Emily Wang, a would-be music-industry mover-and-shaker whose life is falling apart. Her longtime lover, veteran musician Lee (James Johnston), has died from an accidental drug overdose. And since the drugs on which he overdosed belonged to Emily, she's forced to do prison time.

In the meantime, the couple's young son (James Dennis) is being raised by Lee's parents, Albrecht and Rosemary (Nick Nolte and Martha Henry). After Emily is released, the two grandparents are unwilling to even let her see Jay unless she makes some serious changes in her life.

Screenwriter/director Olivier Assayas (Cheung's ex-husband) isn't afraid to make Emily unrepentant and a little unlikable. That we do come to care about the character has more to do with Cheung, who took him a best-actress award from the Cannes Film Festival.

Cheung is able to convey Emily's sense of confusion and vulnerability very effectively . . . although her throaty singing voice, which recalls former Velvet Underground collaborator Nico, does leave something to be desired.

In support, Nolte has a warmer presence than he's shown onscreen in quite some time. And newcomer James Dennis doesn't embarrass himself; he isn't nearly as annoying as some child performers.

"Clean" is rated R for some strong drug content (references to and cocaine and heroin use), some strong sexual profanity and other sexual language, and brief female nudity. Running time: 110 minutes.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com