GEORGES BATAILLE’S STORY OF THE EYE [] (Three stars)

IF Ken Russell, the eccentric British director of “The Boy Friend” and “The Lair of the White Worm,” were asked to make a porn movie, it would be something like “Georges Bataille’s Story of the Eye,” by underground auteur Andrew Repasky McElhinney.

A baby is born, a guy who looks like Robert Downey Jr. pleasures himself while Fred Astaire sings “Top Hat,” two men have rough sex and two women – one of whom was just let out of a cage – do it.

And so begins McElhinney’s brave and shocking feature, which takes a break from sex before moving on to another lesbian encounter, an arty threesome and a climactic shot that is just that.

“Story of the Eye” is the third feature by the Philadelphia filmmaker, whose Gothic thriller, “A Chronicle of Corpses,” created a buzz in 2001.

The 20-something McElhinney’s new work, shot on digital video, takes him in a different direction while confirming his idiosyncratic talent.

Yes, the sex is real and graphic – but there’s no way this beautifully lighted and framed movie can be confused with smut.

Running time: 81 minutes. Not rated (real, graphic sex). At the Two Boots Pioneer Theater, Avenue A and Third Street, East Village.