“Beloved.” Directed by Jonathan Demme. Written by Akosua Busia, Richard LaGravenese and Adam Brooks. Based on the novel by Toni Morrison. Running time: 175 minutes. Rated R (for graphic nudity, sexuality and violence).

In “Beloved,” Jonathan Demme’s film adaptation of Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, all of the ingredients are present for a great film: First is Morrison’s mesmerizing, humbling story of an Ohio woman, circa 1873, who is haunted by her slave past and the murder she committed out of fear, rage and — in the end — a deep sense of love for her child.

Second is the film’s excellent cast, spearheaded by Oprah Winfrey (Sethe) and Danny Glover (Paul D) as two tentative lovers grappling with their violent pasts, their uncertain futures and a bizarre present that is strangely reminiscent of “The Exorcist.”

Third is director Demme, whose “Philadelphia” put a face to the AIDS epidemic while also successfully tackling homophobia. Clearly, Demme isn’t afraid of big issues. Neither is Winfrey, who produced “Beloved.” So how, then, with all of these winning elements in place, could “Beloved” be a film that is great only in its parts, and not as a whole?

The problem is the story itself. For three passionate, uneven hours, Demme does his best to translate Morrison’s richly poetic, yet sometimes impenetrable, prose into a film that will somehow complement that prose by mirroring it. This was a mistake. By trying to come up with a visual equivalent to Morrison’s style, Demme has forsaken his own style, presenting not a film that stands on its own, but a confusing, nonlinear mishmash of flashforwards and flashbacks that can be difficult to follow.

Still, this is a film of moments — some so great, so moving and graphic, they have the power of shocking the viewer into disquieting humility, none of which is more powerful than the moment Sethe murders her child, Beloved, for fear of losing her to a life of bondage. Here, Demme finds his footing, saturating the scene with blood and Sethe’s paranoiac rage, while also allowing the horror of Sethe’s kill to fill the theater with an unsparing silence.

But then the moment is gone, another flashback that brings us back to a less interesting present. Unlike Steven Spielberg, who was unrelenting, indeed unflinching in his portrayal of the Jewish Holocaust in “Schindler’s List” and in his portrayal of war in “Saving Private Ryan,” Demme does flinch, showcasing the horrors of the African-American holocaust not as extended wholes, but as brief, yet powerful, vignettes.

Frankly, if we are asked to understand Sethe’s experience and her eventual fall into madness, then we must see the extended wholes, we must be made to feel truly uncomfortable, lest we ever forget what this country did to her — and to black people as a whole.

In “Amistad,” Spielberg made the same mistake. He gave audiences an unsettling glimpse into slavery, then quickly looked away, relying on our knowledge of history as his educator and not on his film. The miniseries “Roots” had its horrific moments, but it was less a film about slavery than it was a film about the generations of a family.

Is slavery too difficult for us to look at because it happened here? Are we too ashamed to cast a clear eye? Perhaps so. Here’s hoping Hollywood will soon take the necessary plunge into the greater truth.

Grade: C+

Video of the week

“X-Files: Fight the Future.” Directed by Rob Bowman. Written by Chris Carter. Running Time: 122 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for scenes of intense violence).

In “X-Files: Fight the Future,” so little is revealed behind the series’ mysteries, one has to wonder if its creator, Chris Carter, has anything to reveal at all.

The film opens to two prehistoric men being violently attacked in an icy, North Texas cave by a band of alien creatures. Later, in “Present Day: North Texas,” a young boy falls into that same cave — and is overcome by a black oil that seeps into his skin and threads like snakes toward his eyes.

What does it all mean? Our indefatigable heroes — special agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) — are soon on the case. To reveal what little they uncover would be unfair, not only because so much of the film’s success depends on its occasional twists and surprises, but also because to do so would be to expose the television series as the very hoax that it might be.

Indeed, have five years of buildup really amounted to this: a film that generates few answers, but a slew of intriguing new questions?

If so, at least the film offers a smart, thrilling ride.

Grade B+

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear each Monday in the NEWS. Each Thursday on “Newscenter 5:30 Today,” he reviews what’s new and worth renting in video stores.