Jesse Stone: Sea Change is a 2007 American made-for-television crime drama film directed by Robert Harmon and starring Tom Selleck, Kathy Baker, and Kohl Sudduth. Based on the 2006 novel Sea Change by Robert B. Parker, the film is about the police chief of a small New England town who investigates the unsolved murder of a bank teller shot during a robbery, and an alleged rape that draws him into conflict with the town council. It hopes to preserve the town's reputation as an ideal seaside resort. Filmed on location in Nova Scotia, the story is set in the fictitious town of Paradise, Massachusetts. Jesse Stone: Sea Change is the fourth in a series of nine television films based on Parker's Jesse Stone novels.
The fourth film in the series, it first aired on the CBS television network March 22, 2007. Selleck received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his performance in the film. Cinematographer Rene Ohashi was nominated for an American Society of Cinematographers Award for Television Movie/Miniseries/Pilot.
Plot
In the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts, chief of police Jesse Stone is on the phone with his ex-wife Jenn in Los Angeles, who tells him not to call her that night. She's started seeing someone, who finds it strange that the two still talk every evening. Stone is dealing with other changes: his deputy, Luther "Suitcase" Simpson, is still in a coma from a head-wound he received in a supermarket robbery; his other deputy, Molly Crane, resigned from the force to have a family. Her replacement, Rose Gammon, is learning to deal with Stone, as she had once worked for his predecessor.
Stone struggles with his drinking. A concerned neighbor, Hilda Evans, recommends the music of Johannes Brahms as comfort during troubled times. After stopping by the hospital to read to Luther, Stone returns home alone and plays an album of Brahms' piano music. He also drinks and finally falls asleep.
The next day, Stone visits his psychiatrist, Dr. Dix, whom he hasn't seen in months. Stone acknowledges that he drinks more when work is slow. Dr. Dix advises him to find a way to occupy his time, and to make it important. Back at the office, Jesse has Rose pull up the unsolved homicide cases (cold cases), and chooses one to investigate: in 1992 female bank teller Rebecca Lewis was found dead and buried after having been taken hostage during a robbery. Police thought she was killed by the robber. Jesse and Rose go to the site where the body was found, and he digs for more clues. He discovers the gunman's clothes buried beneath the area where the body was found, and they shows damage suspicious for a gunshot wound. Later, Jesse questions the security guard; based on the body's wounds, he was thought to have accidentally shot Rebecca during the robbery. The guard repeats that he shot the robber, not the clerk.
Meanwhile, Luther awakens suddenly from his coma. After effects include his having acquired "cop-ly intuition". Jesse is troubled by loose ends in the Lewis case, particularly the small amount of money the bank claimed as stolen. He talks to Hasty Hathaway, knowing his background in money laundering, and asks if the $24,000 claimed stolen was the actual bank losses. Hasty reveals that the amount was closer to $2 million, but much was hidden in a money laundering scheme by Boston mobster Gino Fish. Hasty tells Gino that Jesse is on the case. Interested in getting his money back, Gino has Terrance Genest follow Jesse.
Jesse also investigates the case of eighteen-year-old Cathleen Holton, who alleges she was raped by the older Harrison Pendleton, on board his yacht. Sybil Martin, also a passenger at the time, tells Jesse that Pendleton had a videotape of the two. Jesse burgles the yacht to obtain the tape, which shows Holton consenting to the sex. Confronting the young woman, Jesse tells her about the video. He encourages her to tell her father the truth, and learn from her mistake. He suggests that Pendleton was wrong in seducing her, given their difference in ages, but it wasn't illegal.
During the cold case investigation, Jesse visits Rebecca's sister, Leeann, who has moved from California to Massachusetts to care for her ailing mother after Rebecca's death. Under questioning, Leeann says her earnings from working in real estate has funded her mother's hospice care. They have more talks and appear attracted to each other. Meanwhile, Luther's cop-ly intuition leads him to get a background check on Leeann; he learns her landlady reported her missing on the day of the robbery, and she worked as a waitress. Jesse deduces that the woman claiming to be Leeann is Rebecca Lewis.