Tonight's Movie: Jesse Stone: Sea Change (2007)

Monday night's JESSE STONE film, DEATH IN PARADISE (2006), ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, so we wanted to move on right away to the next film, SEA CHANGE. The fourth film in the series proved to be another excellent entry.

This time around Jesse (Tom Selleck) is bored with writing parking tickets in sleepy Paradise, and he continues to struggle with his separation from his ex-wife. Jesse distracts himself by reopening a cold murder case, which has unexpected repercussions.

Regulars Kohl Sudduth, Vito Rezza, Stephen McHattie, John Beale, and William Devane return, along with Joe the Dog as Reggie. Sudduth has some particularly funny scenes and is an appealing comedic talent who provides the film with needed levity. Viola Davis, who was transitioning out of the series, appears in one scene. (She would go on to an Oscar-nominated role in 2008's DOUBT.) Kathy Baker joins the cast as Rose, a member of the Paradise PD.

Saul Rubinek reappears as a jailed criminal first seen in NIGHT PASSAGE. William Sadler's character, mobster Gino Fish, appears in later STONE films.

The film includes a beautiful one-scene appearance by the great character actor James Gammon, who passed away last month.

Sean Young, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Mika Boorem are also in the cast.

STONE fans should be sure to read this Selleck interview. Selleck provides a great deal of interesting background information on the series.

Like the other STONE films, SEA CHANGE was directed by Robert Harmon. It runs 89 minutes.

This movie is available on DVD.

Next up in the series: THIN ICE (2009) and NO REMORSE (2010).