NURSE BETTY (18) ****

FOR put-upon waitress Betty Sizemore (Renee Zellweger) the idealised world of her favourite soap opera offers a brief respite from the life she finds herself mired in with witless, faithless husband Del.

So when she witnesses his murder by a pair of professional killers her mind takes her away from this traumatic reality and into the cosy certainty offered by the sanitised environment of A Reason To Love.

Surprising her friends with her calm reaction to news of Del's brutal murder, she packs up her things and heads to LA to take up the life she is convinced is hers, that of an old flame of the soap's heart throb heart surgeon Dr David Ravell (Greg Kinnear).

More surprising still is that, when she gets there, her confused mental state is taken to be an impromptu audition by a dedicated fan. Suddenly it seems as if A Reason To Love has taken to her as completely as she has to it.

But time is running out, the killers have realised that there is a witness to their gruesome handiwork, and all the while veteran hit man Charlie (Morgan Freeman) pursues his prey he is falling in love with this fragile, beautiful woman.

Time is of the essence in other ways too, as Betty's 'confusion' cannot last forever, and she may well see the shallow selfish actor beneath the idealised screen hero before too long.

Funny but with an edge, Nurse Betty is the latest film from Neil LaBute whose previous movies - In The Company of Men and Your Friends & Neighbours - have been savage in their depiction of human relations.

This is far sweeter by comparison, grounded in a comforting kind-heartedness that those films were not. It has its shocking moments, Del's murder for example, yet these are diluted by the intriguing connections of various characters.

The small-town cop and reporter who follow Betty and the hitmen, the hitmen themselves, the actor and his ruthless producer. The film shows you only so much, but leaves you with the impression that there is years of personal history going on behind the storyline.

And in the spotlight the whole time, Renee Zell-weger - soon to play Bridget Jones - hits just the right note of wide eyed and innocent sweetness. The film would not work if she lacked sympathy or conviction, that it works so well must in large part be to her credit.