In theaters

SWEET AND LOWDOWN. Written and directed by Woody Allen. Running time: 95 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Feb. 7-10, Railroad Square Cinema, Waterville.

In some circles — those populated predominantly by the paparazzi — Sean Penn is considered a brooding, self-absorbed troublemaker whose steely gaze and thin-lipped scowl could cool even the sweatiest of sweatshops.

In other circles — those rife with rabble-rousing rumormongers — there are those who swear the actor has never once smiled, that he cannot smile because of a genetic malformation that binds his lips in a decided frown.

This is hogwash. In Woody Allen’s “Sweet and Lowdown,” a quasi-documentary reminiscent of Allen’s 1983 film, “Zelig,” Penn is Emmet Ray, a brooding, self-absorbed 1930s jazz musician who pimps on the sly, shoots rats at garbage dumps for the sheer relaxation of it, and who also proclaims, at every bickering chance he can get, that he is a great artist, one who is nearly freed by music and who smiles gloriously whenever caught in the furor of his arpeggios.

Considering how adept Emmet is with the guitar — when he cuts loose on “Limehouse Blues,” it’s a moment that would make even Jelly Roll Morton smile — Emmet is indeed a great artist, second only — in his mind — to the great Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, a man who is so legendary, whenever Emmet sees him, Emmet faints.

But as this excellent film tells us through brief, witty cameos by Allen and a host of jazz experts, Emmet won’t ever rise to Reinhardt’s level until he first opens himself up to the risks of love. “Your feelings are locked away so deeply, you don’t even know where to find them,” he’s told. “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Emmet answers.

In a film that knows that great art is usually attained through great depths of feeling — whether rooted in despair or lofted in love — Emmet’s world eventually must collide with Hattie (Samantha Morton), a mute laundress with a pretty face and sad eyes, and then with Blanche (Uma Thurman), a loud socialite who longs to be a writer. Only through these relationships can Emmet ever be free as a man and as an artist.

Filled with rich characters and terrific performances from Penn and particularly from Morton, who easily could have been a silent film star, “Sweet and Lowdown” reveals a lot about Allen, a jazz enthusiast who knows a few things about women, a bit more about a muddled personal life, and a bit more still about worshipping an idol: Ingmar Bergman. Grade: A-

On video

BLUE STREAK. Directed by Les Mayfield. Written by Michael Berry, John Blumenthal and Steve Carpenter. Running time: 93 minutes. Rating: PG-13.

Les Mayfield’s “Blue Streak” falls apart on screen after turning blue from a formula seen too many times before in better films, especially those with Eddie Murphy in the lead: “48HRS” and “Beverly Hills Cop.” The film stars Martin Lawrence as Miles Logan, a burglar who bumbles a diamond heist, spends two years in prison because of it, and then, when released, goes back to reclaim the $17 million diamond he hid in a building’s air duct.

The problem? That building has since become a police precinct, which immediately puts “Blue Streak” on a red-hot course of predictability: That’s right — Martin will eventually pose as a police detective to get the diamond back.

As thin as the film’s premise is, what truly throws the film into the slammer is Mayfield’s decision to pair Martin with Luke Wilson, an actor who’s so dull, so lackluster, he’d be perfect for endorsing sleeping pills. “Streak,” which took three screenwriters to shackle, isn’t as bad as “Chill Factor,” another buddy movie recently available on video to pose as an action-comedy, but it’s far worse than anything Eddie Murphy has done. The difference is that Murphy has the gift of talent, Martin the lesser gift of mimicry. Talent can spark even the worst films; mimicry, when overdone, can only sink them further.

Such is the case with “Blue Streak,” a cop-out of a film that takes down audiences with Martin’s unrelenting impersonation of Eddie Murphy. Grade: D

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear each Monday and Thursday in the NEWS, each Tuesday and Thursday on WLBZ’s “NEWS CENTER 5:30 Today” and “NEWS CENTER Tonight,” and each Saturday and Sunday on WCSH’s statewide “Morning Report.”