‘The Sheep Detectives’ review: Ovine whodunit has a tender heart

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.This 100-minute film opens with the MGM lion bleating instead of roaring, setting the tone for a cutesy yarn, or a “herder mystery”, a clever pun used in the promotions. Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story, a 2005 novel by Leonie Swann, is the foundation for the mystery comedy The Sheep Detectives, adapted by Craig Mazin and directed by Kyle Balda.The shepherd in question is George (Hugh Jackman), who dotes on his flock to the extent that he has named each one of them.

Jackman gives George a comforting warmth. His scenes reading murder mysteries aloud to the sheep, despite insisting they understand nothing (but they do), establish the film’s gentle absurdity early on.

After his sudden and mysterious death, the animals—grief-stricken and shocked by the loss—begin to step up to solve the case of George’s murder. For this, they also need to leave the meadow and cross over into the nearby town of Denbrook.Local policeman Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun) and junior reporter Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine), who recently arrived in Denbrook, lead the investigation.

But the movie increasingly belongs to the sheep themselves, particularly Lily (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George’s favourite ewe, who becomes the emotional and moral centre of the story. Her line, “Sheep don’t die, they turn into clouds,” is delivered with such simple sincerity that it forms the film’s defining sentiment.Shetland sheep Lily, Merino sheep Mopple (Chris O’Dowd) and Icelandic leader sheep Sebastian (Bryan Cranston) begin looking for clues.