Should We Be Flocking To See ‘The Sheep Detectives’?

The Sheep Detectives, a charming family film that successfully functions as a cinematic hybrid of Babe and Knives Out, provides the answer to a question that I’ve been pondering for a while: Can a movie succeed when the actor who played Cousin Greg on Succession is the main human character? The answer, happily, is yes. Though Hugh Jackman, who can carry nearly any movie over the finish line on his shoulders, is ostensibly the human lead, the film’s plot involves his murder in the first half-hour. We see Jackman in flashbacks throughout, but it’s Nicholas Brendon, Cousin Greg himself, who has to carry the human burden as a hapless police officer in a quirky British town. Considering that half of his scenes are with sheep who talk with CGI effects when humans aren’t around, he’s very cute and effective.

The Sheep Detectives ★★★ (3/5 stars)
Directed by: Kyle Balda
Written by:  Craig Mazin
Starring:  Hugh Jackman, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Chris O’Dowd, Bryan Cranston, Nicholas Brendon, Molly Gordon, Emma Thompson
Running time: 109 mins

Although based on Leonie Swan’s novel for adults, Three Bags Full, The Sheep Detectives goes for more of a Charlotte’s Web vibe. The sheep are able to forget unpleasant memories. They believe that when sheep die, they turn into clouds. And they are totally devoted to their shepherd, George (Jackman), a total sheep whisperer, who does his special whispering at sundown, when he reads mystery novels to them. The sheep are mostly sweet but dumb, but one special sheep, Lily, absorbs the narrative, which really comes in handy when George ends up dead outside his trailer one night.

Despite rather heavy themes about mortality and memory, The Sheep Detectives manages to not be dour. The sheep are sad about George’s death, but they’re also plucky, and realize that they must band together and help Cousin Greg solve the murder. There are some schticky guest voices, but Julia Louis-Dreyfus, as Lily, is actually quite warm and affecting, and Chris O’Dowd does a nice job as her inadvertently wise sidekick, Mopple. Also extremely strong is Bryan Cranston, who voices a lone ram, a carnival rescue named Sebastian, who teaches the sheep some hard lessons about human cruelty and the reality of the world.

All that stuff is great, but then The Sheep Detectives tacks a sub-Agatha Christie style whodunnit, complete with human actors, onto all the sheep shenanigans. Emma Thompson is funny in her few scenes as George’s estate lawyer, but most of the rest of the human cast, including Hong Chau as an innkeeper, don’t get much to work with. Brendon is the exception. He carries his silly part with charm and wit.

There’s also a second-half entrance by Molly Gordon, from TV’s The Bear, as George’s long-lost daughter, who is either his murderer or the inheritor of his legacy. Gordon is kind of a strange performer. She has warm, expressive eyes, with a gaze deep enough to drown anyone in a scene with her. But she also has basically zero range as an actor. Of course, Brendon immediately falls in love with her, just like Carmy did in The Bear. You can see why, but she also has the depth of a puddle.

That said, this isn’t Medea, and material like The Sheep Detectives is about the right level for Gordon. She is sweet, and her character is sweet, and no one locks themselves in a refrigerator for her. The Sheep Detectives is essentially two movies: A profound meditation on mortality, memory, and love, and also the hackiest murder mystery you’ll ever see on screen. It’s the living definition of why not both? But for something nourishing to do on a weekend afternoon with your nine-year-old, it’s perfect.