One for the whole herd to flock to

The Sheep Detectives
Director: Kyle Balda
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine,
Bryan Cranston, Molly Gordon, Chris O’Dowd

After audiences were graced with the quaint heartwarmer Babe in 1995, no-one could anticipate the degree to which "live-action/CGI talking animal" movies would become universal signifiers for juvenile garbage over the proceeding decades, with a few modern exceptions (I thank the UK everyday for giving us Paddington 2). Because of this, I was pleasantly surprised by The Sheep Detectives (Rialto, Reading), a whodunnit (or, uh, ewe-dunnit) presenting itself with a characteristically fluffy exterior, albeit one that conceals an unexpectedly bittersweet and thoughtful heart underneath.

The film starts with an idyllic day in the life of kind-hearted shepherd George Hardy (Hugh Jackman) and his beloved little flock of oddly idiosyncratic sheep. Making a point to treat them with loving respect (down to giving all of them names), George also engages in the somewhat perplexing routine of reading murder mystery novels to them every night, despite knowing that they’re not capable of understanding, let alone retaining, anything he’s saying to them. But one morning, when George is found dead, the deceptively-sentient and grief-stricken flock vow to use all of the lessons he’s unknowingly imparted to them through his nightly readings, in order to bring the murderer to justice.

The Sheep Detectives, which was written by Craig Mazin (the man behind the Chernobyl miniseries and the TV adaptation of The Last of Us), holds its all-ages audience in genuine high regard, never ramming viewers into submission with crude gags or overtly-obnoxious animal puns (I, however, am not above using bad puns). Mild slapstick aside, these talking sheep are blessed with abundant wit, the screenplay absolutely exceeding expectations with its heartfelt honesty as the flock faces their loss head-on. One sequence sees them debating the choice to completely erase any memory they had of George (as blocking their memory is practically second-nature to them), to avoid the pain of confronting his death. Other films might ordinarily leave this as a baa-nal joke mocking the commonly-perceived dim wits of the species. Not Mazin and director Balda. They instead lay the basis for a poignant reflection on the necessity of memory, and the devastation that comes with it.

In comparison to this frank and wistful material, the human suspects milling about the investigation are thinly characterised, even if they don’t necessarily drain any energy from the film overall. It’s just a little bit tricky to care about bumbling police officer Derry (Nicholas Braun) learning basic competence, after having been utterly engrossed in listening to a sheep like Mopple (Chris O’Dowd) lovingly reminiscing about his late mother’s face to one of his woolly compatriots.

Overall, The Sheep Detectives is a rare gem. Ingenious in concept, and incredibly touching to boot, The Sheep Detectives is a shining example of the "talking animal" subgenre that won’t be bleat any time soon.

By Thomas Green