The Sheep Detectives (English) Review {2.5/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine
Director: Kyle Balda
The Sheep Detectives Movie Review Synopsis:
THE SHEEP DETECTIVES is the story of animals going all out for their beloved master. George Hardy (Hugh Jackman), a shepherd, lives outside the village of Denbrook, England, in a caravan. He dotes on his sheep and has a name for each one of them. During his free time, he reads murder mystery novels to his flock of sheep, pretending they follow along with the stories. In reality, they do follow every word he says. Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is considered the smartest sheep in the flock as she often guesses the murderer before George reveals his identity. However, when George is mysteriously found dead, Lily is unable to figure out who murdered him. She and the rest of the sheep are devastated that their shepherd is no longer with them. They also realize they are too scared to venture out and find the truth. But motivated by Sebastian (Bryan Cranston), a loner sheep, Lily and Mopple (Chris O'Dowd) take the plunge. Meanwhile, Denbrook is shocked by the murder in their peaceful town. Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun), a clumsy local cop, has to solve the case, though he has no prior experience. To complicate matters, Rebecca Hampstead (Molly Gordon), who's related to George, arrives in town. George's lawyer, Lydia Harbottle (Emma Thompson), also arrives and reads the deceased's will, which further adds to the madness. Now, it's up to Lily and her gang to join the dots, remember everything they learned from the mystery novels, and understand who murdered George and why. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
The Sheep Detectives Movie Story Review:
THE SHEEP DETECTIVES is adapted from the bestselling novel 'Three Bags Full' by Leonie Swann. Craig Mazin's adaptation is entertaining. Craig Mazin's screenplay does justice to the plot and makes it look believable. The dialogues are entertaining.
Kyle Balda's direction is smooth and keeps the tone light, despite the presence of disturbing themes in the film. The plot sounds bizarre on paper, but the way Kyle handles the narrative makes the goings-on seem very organic and convincing. Kyle also achieves a balance: he dares to talk about grief and mortality yet keeps it family-friendly and sincere. Meanwhile, the murder mystery element and the KNIVES OUT-style whodunit element also keep viewers invested. The way the sheep go about solving the case makes for a novel and cute watch.
On the flipside, while the sheep characters are fascinating and have depth, the same can’t be said about the human characters. The creators should have ideally worked a bit more on the mystery and fine-tuned the human elements for a better impact. That would have, in turn, helped the murder mystery track. Even before the revelation of the killer, one will be able to guess it from a mile away. Even a few actions of the sheep are inconsistent – at times, they are too smart and at other times, not so much. Lastly, the limited buzz puts a question mark on the prospects.
The Sheep Detectives Movie Review Performances:
Hugh Jackman has a limited screen time but leaves the maximum impact due to his characterization and supreme performance. The character needed an actor of his calibre - one who looks kind-hearted - and hence believable for the part. From the supporting cast, Nicholas Braun comes next and he totally slips into his character. His expressions raise the maximum laughs. Nicholas Galitzine (Elliot Matthews; reporter) is quite memorable. Molly Gordon lends able support. Emma Thompson and Tosin Cole (Caleb) do well. Hong Chau (Beth) Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Reverend Hillcoate) and Conleth Hill (Ham) are fine, but their characters are half-baked. From the voice cast, Julia Louis-Dreyfus rocks the show, followed by Bryan Cranston, Chris O'Dowd, Regina Hall (Cloud), Bella Ramsey (Zora) and Rhys Darby (Wool-Eyes).
The Sheep Detectives movie music and other technical aspects:
Christophe Beck's music adds to the mystery element. George Steel's cinematography is stunning. The locales of the English county are filmed with panache by the lensman. Suzie Davies' production design is top-notch and Rosa Dias' costumes are classy. The VFX is supreme. Martin Walsh, Paul Machliss and Al LeVine's editing is slick.
The Sheep Detectives Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, THE SHEEP DETECTIVES rests on a novel premise, the cuteness and the performance by Hugh Jackman and the voice cast. However, the half-baked human characters and the weak murder mystery angle dent the impact. At the box office, it releases with limited buzz and will need support from the target audience to leave a mark.