Watch Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt For Free

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.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

When two police officers are blown up in a police car while investigating a fire, Jesse Stone is brought back as the Chief of Police. The town council fired him; they now re-hire him, as one of the men on the council's son-in-law was one of the cops.Jesse breaks into his old office, where there is no staff and no action. He calls Rose (Kathy Baker) who is staying with her mother; she says she'll think about it. Suitcase decides to stay away as well.Jesse works to sort through what little he has: money in the trunk of the police car is but one. He speaks with his various sources: his analyst (William Devane), a Massachusetts State Patrol Captain (Stephen McHattie) a Mob kingpin (William Sandler), and the felonious Hasty (Saul Rubinek), now out of prison. Were the cops dirty? Who made the call to bring them to the site? Can Jesse keep from drinking his way through the case? Will Rose and Suitcase ever return?Somehow these characters grow on one. I still think Selleck is too one-note and depressed, though this script had a little humor in it. Still, people enjoy the show, and that's what counts.

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.

Sorry to those who found much fault with this instalment of Jesse Stone, however I found it a vast improvement over the preceding episode. Selleck's portrayal of troubled thinking and composure resonates strongly with me, having done investigative work for 26 years I can see & feel that sense of "something isn't right", and the doggedness that is required to uncover the truth behind a shifty event.Self-medication with alcohol is a job hazard, so is withdrawal and reluctance to commit emotionally - investigative work takes you to very dark places & also tends to take over your life.Stone is left with almost nothing to work with, the only local ally being the doctor who doubles as his ME. The Paradise PD is under resourced & always was, but this reflects real life situations where other people (such as support staff, witnesses etc) have to be exhorted to give their best where they very often don't want to be involved.Yes there were plot holes & unrealistic areas (I hope my hair is still naturally that dark when I hit Selleck's age!), but on the whole I was very pleased with the reduction of Stone's tendency to immediately identify the bad guy, follow him & shoot him - PLEASE DIAL THIS DOWN TOM !!! I've enjoyed all episodes for this character because of Selleck's ability & watchability, but the prior 2 efforts tended to be somewhat repetitive in shoot-outs and ending with the bad guys not just caught, but shot by Stone. The intellectual stimulation for adults is the drama and the entire character of Stone; I don't follow these for bang-bang action and frankly it doesn't belong too much, and this film was all the better for less of it. Being an avenging killer is still being a killer and morally bankrupt in someone who upholds the law - I don't feel the constant shooting of the crim to be in keeping with Stone or that it deepens or expands the character. Shooting in the line of duty is far different (and less prevalent) and Stone's ability to cope (or not) with "what has to be done" and "what happens on the job", would be even more compelling viewing.In my work I found watching the twists and efforts of the guilty to avoid detection & "get away with it" to be incredible to see - the ability of human beings to act, lie, steal, cheat and do anything for money, and the application of justice and jail is far more interesting than play-acting with guns. The strain of uncovering devious doings and defeating them, and dealing with the fact that they often do get away, is intense, draining and hugely real.It must be difficult to follow in Robert Parker's footsteps, but intelligent adult viewing is becoming very rare these days & in my opinion the writing team are trying very hard to stay faithful to the character and carry on his work. However, there is a tendency in this script to pitch to the lowest common denominator, or in other words "you tell 'em what you're going to say, say it, then tell 'em what you just said". We don't need constant repetition of phrases such as "I don't believe I said that" and other obvious pretensions, such as Suitcase's "my sense is that..." and so on.They're OK once or twice to get the point across but over-use is dumbing down the product and detracting from the overall "likeability" of brand Jesse Stone.I found the secret affair out of character too, but presumably we'll see more of this later. Sorry Saul Rubinek, but I think Hasty's time has come and the character should depart - especially that dopey bow-tie, ditto for Stone's reliance on Gino Fish for all underworld information. I don't understand Gino's motivation for assisting Stone(other than trying to foster favour with a police chief), it's never been explained and has worn thin; some new characters wouldn't go amiss. I'm pleased Chief Stone also decided to break his co-dependency with his unlikable ex-wife Jen, and I can feel the growing friendship with Captain Healy - it's already there with Dr Dix. William Devane & Stephen McHattie are perfect in their roles.I do enjoy these shows immensely, can't wait for the next & look forward to further character & plot development - keep up the good work for many more episodes to come.

I have to say i disagree about most comments : this is a VERY good movie. It is to be seen in continuation as a series. We follow the lives of the characters : Suitcase, Rose, Hasty, Thelma, Dr. Dix(the shrink)... They are all important in Jesse's life. The benefit of doubt is in fact also for Jesse to prove for himself, that's the fine twist. He progresses psychologically in this instalment more than many of the other movies we could see, being stuck in his sorrows... Even the dog, Reggie improves his relation with Jesse(is it a spoiler???) to enforce his progression... Don't look at these movies as fast paced action flicks. There a lot of them around. BUT, good reflexive, intelligent, deep, meditative movie about a -yes- archetypal detective : lonely, divorced, alcoholic, sometimes violent(he often kills instead of arresting the culprit)...- such a good a series is very rare to find. THOSE a little jewels. Good music, superb Nova Scotia landscapes, and a good cop intrigue. GO ON, please, JESSE, we follow you .....to PARADISE!!!!!!!!!!