Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise (2006)

Good concept, poorly executed.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Blistering performances.

The late Robert B. Parker turned out easy-to-read novels prolifically, the majority featuring 'series' characters like Spenser and Jesse Stone. Several of the Jesse Stone novels were adapted for television and all of those I have seen have been excellent primarily because the producers have had the good sense to cast most of the roles with fine actors rather than signing a half-decent lead and then surrounding him/her with a group of ho hums. Apart from Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone the standout supporting actor is Viola Davis by a country mile, unfortunately she fell or was pushed halfway through the series and her character was renamed. Another of its strengths lies in having Stone concentrate on one main case yet still manage to deal with others, just as a real chief of police in a small town would. Excellent.

A couple of truly sad cases come across the desk of police chief Jesse Stone of Paradise, Massachusetts. The first involves the appearance of the body of a 14 year old girl who had been in the water for a few weeks. The second is an ongoing domestic dispute between an abusive husband and his battered wife. Patient and methodical as always Tom Selleck gets the job done. The domestic couple is John Diehl and Debra Christofferson who steals acting honors here in a scene with Selleck where she talks sadly about how few options she has in life other than stay in this relationship with this dirtbag. One of Selleck's officers is nearly killed because of the volatility of the situation.The second after long search because she was never reported missing turns out to be Mae Whitman whom we see in flashback. She was the school tramp for the past couple of years. Again someone you can weep for because had she lived she would have had a really horrible life with lots of issues. Of no help is her parents especially her father who actually kicked her out of the house. She was also a few weeks pregnant.Going through her relationships is what eventually leads Selleck to a conclusion he was supposed to arrive at. But actually it's the knot that came loose that allowed her body to rise is what ultimately leads him to her murderer.A fine film with one bad slice of humanity for Stone to deal with.

When the body of a fourteen years old teenager is found in the margin of the river in Paradise, Massachusetts, the Chief of Police Jesse Stone (Tom Selleck) and his officer Simpson (Kohl Sudduth) seek clues in the spot. Through a graduation ring of a student that they find nearby the corpse, they identity the dead girl, the local slut Billy Bishop. Meanwhile, his department deals with a domestic violent situation with an aggressive and abusive husband that beats his wife. Along his investigation, Stone discloses that the famous writer Norman Shaw (Gary Masaraba) was too much close to the victim and intended to write the biography of the famous gangster Leo in his next book. Joining the pieces of evidences like a puzzle, Stone unravels the identity of the criminal."Death in Paradise" is the second excellent movie that I see with Tom Selleck in the role of Chief Jesse Stone. Both films show simple, credible and effective police stories, with great performances, magnificent cinematography and realistic screenplays. Jesse Stone seems to be tailored to Tom Selleck, who is perfect in the role of the cynical, stubborn and flawed but fair chief of police. I believe this character deserves a TV series, so good these stories are. I have just seen in IMDb that there are two other movies of this character, unfortunately not released in Brazil. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Crimes no Paraiso 2" ("Crimes in Paradise 2")

This is the third in the Jesse Stone movie series and I thought it was the best. Selleck is just perfect as the flawed, but honorable main character. What makes this series so good is what others have written; the pacing of the films is thoughtful; the characters are adult and complex; it has plot and intelligence over car crashes and special effects though it has action and romance in it to be sure. You like Selleck's character instantly and his scenes with his other officers,the State Police Detective and the shrink he see's about his drinking, are all terrific.In the special features on Stone Cold Selleck says people have a 'hunger' for this type of adult entertainment where plot and story are more important than rapid fire visuals--and that is so true. It's surprising how good this series is--it's way better than 95% of what's in the theaters. Tom Selleck in a really good cop movie or Pirates of the Caribbean part IV--it's no contest.