[Rating: Rock Fist Way Up]
Murder mysteries have had such a small moment in the 2020s, providing fun plots that get into the minds of audiences in order to solve a crime. Take Knives Out, for example and how it really kicked into gear how much fun it is to sit back and solve a mystery before the fictional detectives can! What if, however, the detectives in charge of a murder don’t even stand on two legs? The Sheep Detectives (directed by Kyle Balda) might just be one of the most insane concepts of a plan that works, and works well on its four hooves, providing plenty of mystery, humor and heart.
Shepherd George Hardy (Hugh Jackman) lives on his meadow in a small trailer, with his sheep as his companions. He spends time tending to their needs, living his solitary life, and ending each night with a detective story that interests his flock. The sheep, including Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) love the mystery stories, always providing insight to what they’ve been told, and seeing if they can crack the case before the stories end. One day, Lily and her friend Mopple (Chris O’Dowd) discover George, in the yard, dead. Lily knows this can’t be foul play and seeks the aid of an isolated sheep, Sebastian (Bryan Cranston) to help her solve the case before the humans can.
Meanwhile, local village policeman Tim (Nicholas Braun) is called upon to help solve the potential murder, along with a newcomer to town, reporter Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine) He runs into some serious roadblocks when George’s lawyer, Lydia (Emma Thompson) summons multiple townspeople to the reading of George’s will. These include innkeeper Beth (Hong Chau), fellow shepherd Caleb (Tosin Cole) and out of nowhere, George’s daughter Rebecca (Molly Gordon). The case gets complicated when too many fingers point towards Rebecca, a daughter nobody knew George even had. Now, man and beast must work together in order to solve the murder and prove if Rebecca really had something to do with it all or if this was someone or something else at fault.
I loved The Sheep Detectives. I think this is the most ingenious family film since the Paddington franchise began. Because this is a family film, you would think it would talk down to its audiences, thinking they are mostly children but it doesn’t. There’s some sharp detective work afoot with the sheep who are the most enjoyable characters on screen. I also loved how much heart this film provided. There are many moments the sheep are very innocent to the world around them, and yet we as the audience know the world is not all clouds and forgetting things. Lily especially, has to face some difficult life lessons, as she learns that just thinking about forgetting something is harder than one could think.
Yes, The Sheep Detectives is such a riveting murder mystery that Agatha Christie couldn’t write it better!
Christian Ramos is a classic film fan, having had the dream to host Turner Classic Movies for years now. He also has a large amount of Oscar trivia in his head, remembers dressing as Groucho Marx one Halloween, and cherishes the moment Julianne Moore liked his tweet.
You must log in to post a comment.