katrinaolson.ca - KO Review of Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise

Posted on Wednesday, March 09, 2016 at 12:00 PM

KO Review of Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise

Review by Katrina Olson-Mottahed x CalgaryMovies.com

A KO Review by Emily Mody

Lost In Paradise is a TV movie directed by Robert Harmon and written by Michael Brandman and Tom Selleck. The film is about a man named Jesse who is struggling to reclaim his purpose in life. Jesse has been a cop for the majority of his adult life but lately criminal activity has been very slow in his small town of Paradise, Massachusetts. He, in turn, decides to serve as a consultant on an unsolved murder case in Boston.

To be honest, I was kind of disappointed. Most of the individual aspects of this film, main storyline, set, and camera work were good. I believe that the script was truly where I felt this film needed a lot of improvement. I only realized that Lost In Paradise was a TV Movie after I had watched it but looking back on it that actually makes a lot of sense. The film also seemed very rushed to me but knowing that the writers were dealing with the logistics of making the film into something that could easily be enjoyed on TV seems to make up for their lack of thoroughness. In my experience I have always found that TV Movies maintain a lower quality standard than regular films. I am not sure if this is due to network pressure and budgetary restrictions but I would imagine that would have a lot to do with it.

With that in mind, Lost In Paradise was probably one of the best TV Movies I have seen. I was very excited to see Tom Selleck acting in the staring role of this film because I really enjoyed his character on Friends. For the most part, I think Selleck performed very well. Besides him and Luke Perry who played the part of “The Boston Ripper”, I would say the majority of the actors were forgettable and I had not seen them in any other films.

I would compare this film to The Usual Suspects directed by Bryan Singer. The two films are similar in the sense that they are both crime mysteries/thrillers and they both utilize different interpretations of the classic “who dunnit” trope. I would argue, however, that The Usual Suspects is a much better film in every way than Lost In Paradise is and there are probably many other crime mysteries that are worth seeing before Lost In Paradise.

So all in all, I suppose I would say that Jesse Stone: Lost In Paradise is not horrible but it is also probably not worth your time. Speaking from my film watching experience, if you want to watch a film in this genre go watch The Usual Suspects. If you are at home on a lazy Sunday afternoon with nothing better to do and you happen to be flipping through the channels and find Lost in Paradise you might want to check it out but it is definitely not worth seeking out.

Calgary Showtimes: Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise >