Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt

The latest Jesse Stone installment, Benefit of the Doubt, is yet another reminder that Jesse is a flawed character. Tom Selleck does such a great job with this character you find yourself justifying these flaws and rooting for him to overcome and serve justice at the same time. Robert B. Parker's vision for Jesse to continue to be flawed has remained intact even after the scripts wandered away from Parker's story line. The supporting cast, Kathy Baker, Kohl Sudduth, Stephen McHattie, William Sadler, Saul Rubinek, and William Devane all return to Paradise to as well. Great acting by Selleck, good writing, and the talented supporting cast preserve Parker's vision for Jesse Stone and hopefully give it life for yet another CBS movie.

The stage curtains open ...

"I always knew I'd get my job back. Fate wouldn't do that to me."

The 8th film in the Jesse Stone crime/drama series starts out with a bang ... literally, when a police car explodes into flames to set the scene for the entire story. This was a conscientious effort to return to form with Jesse becoming the Police Chief again, and bringing back director Robert Harmon to manage things behind the camera. Though it was great to see Jesse wearing that hat again, things still didn't really feel the same anymore. Both Suit and Rose (having quite their jobs) were only on screen for a few minutes each. I would say that out of all the films in the series, this one felt the most bittersweet.

The new police chief and a re-hired DeAngelo are investigating a report of a bonfire on the outskirts of town when their car suddenly explodes into a large ball of flames, killing them both instantly. With nowhere else to turn, Councilman Hanson shows up at Jesse's house along with newly appointed councilman, Hasty Hathaway, asking for his help. He is given his job back as the Police Chief, so he gets to work. He arrives at the office to basically find it deserted, since he is the only active officer in Paradise. He investigates the murder of the former police chief, much like he did when he was first hired investigating the death of Lou. Ironcially enough, all roads seem to lead right back to Hasty.

I enjoyed this one. The pacing was actually a bit better in this one, and the story was well written (as always). But the "feel" of the earlier episodes just wasn't here. A decline I started to notice begining with "No Remorse". There were a couple of things I really did like about this one, however. Reggie has finally allowed himself to get close to Jesse, climbing up on the bed next to him, and then at the end, on a bench to sit next to Jesse in the police station. The other was the return of Suit to the police force in the very last scene.

I liked the angle of this story. The acting was good, as it usually is in these films. The cinematography was spot on, and the direction of Robert Harmon was a welcome return. With only one more movie to go, one gets the feeling that we've seen the last of Rose, which is sad. But, life goes on. I would recommend this movie. It is solid, worth the watch. As I mentioned at the outset, it was bittersweet. It was the same, but different.

Not having been a Magnum PI fan, I've not watched many Tom Selleck movies other than his westerns. But one night after watching "Quigley Down Under" for the sixth or seventh time, I decided to watch one of the Jesse Stone series on Net Flix. This series is very engaging and once I started watching them I had to see them all and I even bought the DVDs. This most recent "Without a Doubt" is not one of the better ones. All of the flaws have been pointed out: believability -- where is the rest of the police force; incongruity of the plot; and his love life has definitely taken a dive. At least he has finally gotten rid of the ex-wife thing which made him seem pretty pathetic after the first 3 or 4 movies. Jesse is the classic brooding bad boy and Tom Selleck plays the role really well. His womanizing and his drinking are part of his charm, after all he is up front with all of the women he makes love to. Tom does need to lighten up on the hair color (better than in Bluebloods where he looks like he's been made up by a mortician). He is one of those men that has gotten more masculine and attractive as he has matured. I think the movie dialog is very similar to that in the books, but Jesse at times is too brooding and intense. Anyone who has his success with women should have a smile on his face once in a while. As a female fan, I'd wouldn't mind seeing how Jesse looks without his shirt on. This is a good series and I hope we have many more Jesse Stone movies to come.

Paradise Police Chief "Skipper" Butler and Officer D'Angelo are investigating a fire at "The Point". But when they get there, it appears to be a false alarm.

Or is it?

Two people are dead, and be warned--their bodies look like something out of a horror movie.

The state arson investigators won't tell the town council anything. Town council members Hanson and Hasty show up at Stone's remote house--his phone is disconnected--to offer him his job back. Stone and the state investigator Healy are friends, so maybe he will have better luck.

Healy tells Stone what he needs to know and advises him to leave the investigating to the state cops. Since when has that ever stopped Stone? His next two actions are illegal and provide two of the film's best comic moments, the other being Hasty's bow-tie.

Stone suspects the murders were the result of Butler being corrupt (Wait: why will Butler let Stone take over his job, much less get away with investigating him? There's a very good reason). But he faces a number of obstacles. Molly quit. Rose quit and took her kids to her mother's in Toledo. Suitcase is working on his father's boat where he claims to be happy, but he's not convincing. Stone has no cell reception at his house. How will this man get anything done? Believe me, he will.

Stone hasn't talked to his ex-wife Jen since he lost his job, and he's drinking again; his dog seems to disapprove. He continues to visit Dr. Dix, and he is dating Thelma, who works at Hasty's car dealership and sings standards in a club. Stone also goes out with the pretty but tough Amanda, Gino Fish's secretary, but just for information.

A third person dies, and while it looks like suicide, Stone doesn't believe it.

The mystery has just enough twists, and the conclusion is exciting.

This is a movie that can be watched by those new to Jesse Stone. Unlike some of the others, this is a straight mystery which doesn't deviate into long philosophical scenes that some might find boring. And Stone's character history is explained for those who might not know it, but this is not really necessary for a newcomer to the series.

Tom Selleck does his usual good job--just remember, this is NOT "Blue Bloods" (which I've never seen, but commercials tell me enough). Stone is flawed in many ways but basically decent.

The other leading actors also do a good job. I wish Kathy Baker had had a bigger role, but for whatever reason she didn't have a lot of lines. Suitcase was also missed.

It's worth seeing, even more so than some of the recent entries in the series.

This latest in the Jesse Stone series contains little suspense as the only new character introduced in the anthology turns out to be the perpetrator or at least one of them. Part of the problem is that you really would have to see the previous film to get into what is going on here.

In that previous film Tom Selleck who steps on a lot of toes in the small ocean town of Paradise, Massachusetts got fired as police chief and the snot nose son-in-law of one of the town councilmembers took his job. Well in this episode the new chief and another officer are killed in a most grisly fashion, a bomb thrown under their police car blows them up. You'd think it was Afghanistan.

In fact Selleck who is brought back as chief thinks it's not terrorism and so does Stephen McHattie from the Massachusetts State Police homicide squad. They think it's local and personal and it turns out it is.

One problem Selleck does have is that he IS the Paradise police because the others quit when he left and the two deceased were the previous force. He could have used a little help, but Kathy Baker and Kohl Sudduth just aren't ready to return.

These two hour Jesse Stone movies give Tom Selleck a chance to get into his deeply flawed alcoholic character. The enforced idleness in his absence as chief have put a lot of temptation to return to his drinking ways.

Fans of the series and of Selleck should like this film.