Daily News from New York, New York • 83

DAILY NEWS43 Wednesday, December 13. 1989 By ROCER EBERT -f 'VJY fVA ii i tWi 1 inside that flannel shirt along with Newman. Ron Shelton directed; his previous film was "Bull Durham," and both films share a sensibility Shelton's characters define their identities through their eccentricities. The development of their relationship is seen against a backdrop of Louisiana state politics in the late 1950s, as Long tries to hold together the populist, working-class Democratic Party coalition first cobbled together by his late brother, Huey man a Long. Earl Long was a man constantly under indictment on tax charges or under suspicion of payrolling and graft, and he was denounced from the pulpits of the state for his immoral liaison with Blaze Starr.

He never bothered to deny his friendship with Blaze, and indeed often seemed to confuse his politics and sexuality. "Blaze" is the affectionate story of two colorful people who stuck together even though that didn't suit everybody's notions of propriety. Whether it tells the whole story of their relationship is open. But this is a movie born honest and have had to struggle with the consequences ever since. "Blaze" is based on the autobiography of Blaze Starr, who now lives in Baltimore where, the credits inform, she's still "a part of the local cultural scene." But the heart of the movie is a public relationship between a woman who was not respectable, and a man who didn't give a damn what people said.

Paul Newman is an ideal choice to play Earl K. Long, with his hair a little mussed, his gut sticking out over his belt buckle and his voice a little slurred. The part fits him like an old flannel shirt "Blaze" shows Newman as the kind of instinctively humorous man he plays best, the kind whose response to hypocrisy is a delighted horselaugh. LTHOUGH NEWMAN fO is a delight, the best Xrvfc surprise is a new actress named Lolita Davido-vich, who plays Blaze Starr. Unlike a lot of new actors who project tension or concentration on how important they think every scene has to be, Davidovich acts as if she's Paul Newman ana Lolita Davidovich mi mi ii ii i "ww i mil 1 Lil Ms BLAZE.

Paul Newman, Lolita Davidovich. Written and directed by Ron Shetton. Running time: two hours. Rated R. TOWARD THE END OF "Blaze," this exchange takes place between the two central characters: Earl Long: "Would you still love me just as much if I wasn't the fine governor of the great State of Louisiana?" Blaze Starr: "Would you still love me just as much if I had little tits and worked in a fish house?" The true and final answer to this question is withheld by the makers of "Blaze" almost until the movie's last scene; "love" is a big word, after all.

But right from the opening passages, we can tell that these two characters like each other an awful lot: Earl, the boozy, wheeler-dealer governor of Louisiana, and Blaze, the hillbilly girl who became a famous stripper. They like each other for several reasons, including the obvious ones, but also because they are alike in so many ways. They're students of human nature who were an us. ENEMIES. A LOVE STORY.

Ron Silver, An-jelica Huston, Lena Olin. Directed by Paul Mazursky. At the Gotham. Running time: 1 hour, 58 minutes. Rated R.

THERE'S A COMICAL scene in "Enemies, A Love Story" that perfectly illustrates the hero's dilemma. Herman Broder, a Jewish writer in 1949 who is still a bit shell-shocked from his narrow escape from death in Nazi-occupied Poland, is standing in front of a New York subway entrance. Huge signs point to the tunnel entrances for three different boroughs. Looking as desperately confused as a contestant on "The Dating Game," Herman finally heads for the Bronx to see his wife, the fiery Masha. Suddenly he reverses his steps.

This time he goes left in the direction of Manhattan, where wife No. 1, Tamara, is currently staying. Another wife, a Polish-born gentile named Yadwiga, waits patiently for him in Brooklyn, for Herman has told her as usual that he's busy selling books. Why is Herman the marrying kind? Director Paul Mazursky tells all in his admirable if not totally successful attempt to adapt Isaac Bashe-vis Singer's 1973 novel for the screen. Singer, who won the 1978 Nobel Prize for literature, spins intricate tales that reflect the complexity of human emotion.

Herman's situation is both farcical and tragic. But while Mazursky finds the humor in it, creat- SO THIS IS LOVE? Anjelica Huston, Ron Silver in "Enemies" AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER: made up of feelings and moments, and not a work of political history. Newman and Davidovich create their characters with a rough affection, and by the end of the film we are prepared to concede that 'DAISY FROM COVER me six days, the same time it took the Lord to make the world," says Hoke after informing Boolie of his success. Some 25 years later the now fragile Daisy stares at the faithful white-haired Hoke, whose patient concern has gradually won her over. "You're my best friend," she admits.

The movie tenderlyi explores this special friend-' ship between an imperious Jewish matron and her good-natured black companion, who witness the bewildering social changes as the conservative old South gives way to the modern, more liberal New South. As they become increasingly dependent on each other, Daisy and Hoke must confront the inevitable problems of racism, anti-Semitism and aging. DAPTING TO THE times is not easy for these two elderly peo ple. In a key scene, Daisy listens to Boolie, who runs the family's cotton business, explain his reluctance to attend a dinner honoring Martin Luther King even though he feels the civil-rights leader has "done some mighty fine things." He suggests that his mother take Hoke as her guest But Daisy waits until she's in the car on the way to the dinner before asking Hoke, who's properly insulted. Both characters, like true Southerners, tend to conceal their feelings under a facade of good manners.

The movie never resorts to sentimentality. It has a dry wit as well as genuine warmth. Best of all it is the they might have loved each other even if she had been a skinny waitress and he not the fine governor of the great state. Roger Ebert writes frequently on movies.) perfect showcase for two deserving actors Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman. Tandy, at age 80, gives a truly memorable performance as the domineering Daisy.

She's hilariously tart at first but as Daisy becomes less defensive and accepts the presence of Hoke in her life, she displays a poignant vulnerability, revealing the inner fears of this lonely, but defiantly proud Southern matron. Morgan Freeman brings a quiet dignity and old-fashioned gentility to the role of the illiterate BEMUSED: Dan Aykroyd Hoke, whose very posture immediately suggests he has" spent his whole life in humble servitude to white folks. Both actors are prime candidates for Oscar nominations. As Boolie, Dan Aykroyd is surprisingly appealing as he reacts with bemused tolerance to his demanding, often insensitive mother. In writing the screenplay, Uhry, with the help of director Bruce Beresford, has managed to open up his two-character play without destroying its simple candor.

It's the human complexity of these characters that makes them so endearing. PG adult subject matter healthy skepticism of some one who already expert enced the worst horrors of life. "I'm dead so I bear no grudges," Tamara explains. The merciful Tamara knows her man well. She eventually volunteers to straighten things out by becoming his "manager." "You're an an gel, responds Herman.

"Who knows what angels are?" replies this worldly wise survivor. All three actresses are superb. It's only Silver who seems possibly miscast He plays up the character's spiritual numbness and his extreme passivity, but one can't help but wonder if the movie would have had more sting to it if an actor like Richard Dreyfuss had played the cheating husband. Like the Coney Island Ferris wheel outside Herman's window, the movie tends to lurch from moments of pure comedy relief to scenes of frightening truth. It's a brave effort on Mazursky's part; although the movie is too long, it does occasionally achieve an unsettling blend of humor and pathos that the director strove for.

Kathleen Carroll ing some ruefully funny and playfully ironic scenes, the audience is never moved by the plight of this "lost man" who can't bring himself to decide between three women. The surprise here is that the women are not simply the victims in this case of a wandering adulterer. They prove to be far stronger than Herman, played by Ron Silver. Each woman gives Herman something he apparently needs. Yadwiga (Margaret Sophie Stein), a former servant girl whom he married as guilt payment for saving his life, is his eager slave who sings with pleasure while scrubbing the kitchen floor.

With Masha, it's a case of pure lust Played with ferocious sexuality by the incredibly sultry Lena Olin, she's a bewitching sex goddess who manipulates him with threats of suicide. Herman is genuinely shocked when his first wife, Tamara (played with wry wit and maternal warmth by Anjelica Huston), shows up. Shot and left for dead in a ditch, she has somehow made it to New York, where she Views Herman with the surprising compassion and the.