In the new film “The Sheep Detectives”, Hugh Jackman stars as English farmer George Hardy, who is somewhat reclusive to his neighbours, but a kindly shepherd to his flock, who are raised for their wool, not for slaughter.
He has given a name to each animal. And at twilight, he sits outside his trailer home, reading murder mysteries to his flock, who are—you would swear—an attentive audience.
Surprise! They really are! They’re a collection of four-footed crime buffs!
After one dark and stormy night, George is found lying dead outside his trailer. The animals, suspecting foul play, believe they can use their knowledge of whodunits to puzzle out what happened. Especially determined is Lily (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) a Shetland sheep who has usually been able to guess the culprit in George’s mystery novels.
Their challenge is to leave some clues or supply some subtle prodding to one of the humans pondering the case. Their prospects include an inept young village policeman (played by Nicholas Braun), an enterprising reporter (portrayed by Nicholas Galitzine), George’s snooty lawyer (Emma Thompson) and his long-hidden adult daughter who just appeared in town (played by Molly Gordon.)
The solution to the mystery is clever, though any sheep that has binged a season of “Midsomer Murders” could probably guess it.
More to the point, director Kyle Balda and writer Craig Mazin have supplied heart and humour with the fantasy world of their woolly protagonists. The sheep here have their superstitions, psychological ticks, prejudices and phobias (like crossing a small country lane that has no grass.) Poignantly, they have to grapple with the concept of mortality raised by George’s death.
The movie expertly blends the human actors with the CGI sheep. The voice cast includes some star names, such as Louis-Dreyfuss and Bryan Cranston, but the only voice you will recognise is the Shakespearean gravitas of Patrick Stewart as a mangy old ram.
This is more of a Hugh Jackman movie than you’d expect. Though he dies early on, the warmth and integrity of his character linger over the film.
The film’s only serious misstep is forgivable--piling on too many sentimental climaxes at the end.
Rabbits got their due in the 1978 animated classic “Watership Down." "The Sheep Detectives” follows in that tradition, earning four bags full out of five.
