The Sheep Detectives review: This fantastic flock scripts its own fabled story

Director Kyle Balda’s reimagining of German author Leonie Swann’s bestseller Three Bags Full is more inclusive, yet equally enthralling.

Rating: (4 / 5)

By Mayur Lookhar

Of the gifts that nature has given us, mankind’s bond with animals is special. Caring for a pet isn’t an easy task – ever wondered how shepherds manage their flock of sheep? How obediently they follow the shepherd. Ah, herd mentality, it’s actually fascinating. One human guiding dozens of sheep across a vast grazing land. Respect to all Shepherds.

Imagine a person who has studied philosophy, psychology, communications, and English literature. Such a highly qualified person is apt to write crime fiction. German author Leonie Swann (pen name) began her career with a novel about sheep taking over as detectives. Known to be very private, little is known about her family, but it would be unimaginable to think Swann would write a fable without studying Ovis aries behavior, perhaps drawing from something she’d experienced closely in her early years.

Glennkill (English: Three Bags Full) was a bestseller in 2005. Nearly 20 years later, it has inspired director Kyle Balda and writer Craig Mazin to adapt it into the feature film The Sheep Detectives.

Story

George Hardy (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd in the quaint English town of Denbrook, living in a barn with his caravan as home, his flock of sheep his only family. A vegetarian who only shears them for wool, he despises fellow shepherd Caleb (Tosin Cole) and butcher Ham Gilyard (Conleth Hill). George’s life revolves around his sheep, he reads them mystery thrillers despite knowing it’s illogical, but his sheep listen patiently. It’s a happy barn until George is found dead one morning. Lily, his most beloved sheep, suspects foul play and convinces the flock their shepherd was murdered. Though limited as animals, they do everything in their power to help the lone, clumsy policeman Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun) solve the mystery.

Screenplay & Direction

The ethos of Leonie’s Three Bags Full is respected, but writers Craig Mazin and Kyle Balda have reimagined the story and mystery. Keeping with modern trends, this fable feels inclusive with Afro-British characters and one of Asian descent- none feel out of place. While fables tempt creative liberties, Mazin and Balda don’t stray far from the book. After all, it’s the novel that instilled probing skills in our sheep. Mind you, the animals simply guide, but it’s the probing cop Tim Derry who must use his instincts to gauge what Lily (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Mopple (voiced by Chris O’Dowd) are up to.

Sheep seeking justice for their beloved shepherd is a novel idea – a way to express their gratitude to the human, but through this journey the film also sensitizes you to the Ovis Aries world: their thoughts, their fears, and most notably them never stepping out of their field, their comfort zone. How can such a film be complete without giving some food for thought about slaughter? Then there is the all‑important, unspoken truth that busts the long‑held belief that animals are dumb. Kadla’s film gives voice to the sheep, a voice that most humans should lend an ear to.

The messaging is finely rolled into a fun, thrilling, and emotionally gripping screenplay, backed by stellar acting, voice acting, near flawless direction and a strong visual appeal.

Performances

For a man who gained global recognition as Wolverine, Hugh Jackman now steps into the shoes of a shepherd. Mind you, more than Wolverine, it was as Logan that Jackman showed great heart and only used his unwanted strength in self‑defense and to protect innocents. He sure gorged on meat to look the part for Wolverine, and now the same man plays a vegetarian shepherd, and one who despises the local butcher. Well, that’s an actor’s life for you. George appears to be having a certain disdain toward the local church and certain practices.

It would be a cardinal sin to call this a cameo, as Jackman’s George is the heart and soul of this film. With no family around, George finds comfort in his sheep, and the limited conversations that he has with humans are not cordial. The George-sheep bond isn’t down to just food or nurturing; Jackman’s humility convinces you of a strong emotional bond between man and animal. Ideally, George’s death needed more mourning, but there’s a murder mystery that needs to be solved.

The onus of solving this mystery lies on the shoulders of the lone Denbrook cop Tim Derry. With no real crime in this quaint town, Derry has never been stretched much here. Initially he dismisses the case as natural death, but visiting junior reporter Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine) senses foul play and urges Derry to probe harder. Then come the sheep – Lily and Mopple – who often stare at Derry in the hope that he gets their signal, and dropping George’s favourite crime‑thriller book becomes the first step in this unusual human‑animal co‑investigation, or well, if we can call it that. Having done nothing serious for years, Derry is suddenly cajoled into probing George’s death. Denbrook is surprised to learn that George had a daughter, and when Rebecca arrives, Derry seems infatuated with her; in the presence of the lawyer and a few neighbours, he even has the gumption to ask Rebecca if she has a boyfriend. Honestly, not many would have pinned Derry to resolve this case, but he eventually proves his competence, and Braun’s act is nothing short of a virtuoso.

Molly Gordon intrigues as Rebecca, a woman who barely shows much emotion upon her father’s death. But having stayed away all these years from her father, never having seen her mother, and having been raised in foster care, it is never easy for such children to reconnect with their biological parents. Well, in this case, sadly, she is here for her father’s funeral. Before one can really get to know Rebecca, she finds herself at the centre of this murder mystery. Be it at George’s will‑reading announcement or being the prime suspect, Rebecca appears overwhelmed by the developments in a short period of time.

Balda and Mazen have reshaped George’s mysterious death, added new suspects and thus widened the probe. As with most murder mysteries, the killer is often an unlikely person. With Balda barely leaving any hints, the unravelling of the mystery and the identity of the killer might come like a bolt from the blue, but as stated before, straying from the sheep’s understanding of George’s favourite book would have diminished the sheep’s detective efforts. This is a fable, and not a hard‑core murder mystery.

Tech plays its part, and Balda’s got a great special‑effects team, but it’s the entire voice cast that infuses soul into these characters. George has given each a sheep name, often describing its quality: Lily shining for her wisdom, Mopple the jovial sheep, Cloud (voiced by Regina Hall) for her bright white wool. The Norfolk Horn twins Reggie and Ronnie (both voiced by Brett Goldstein) are always keen to ram into each other. Then there’s Sebastian (voiced by Bryan Cranston), simply the odd one out, who likes to live in solitude but keeps a tight watch on the flock. The most adorable is the Winter Lamb, deemed an outcast by the flock, who still holds no ill will toward anyone. Through Sebastian and the Winter Lamb, who is eventually named George, Balda explores prejudices within the flock, simultaneously sending a subtle message to polarised humans as well.

Julia Louis‑Dreyfus, Chris O’Dowd, and Bryan Cranston deliver terrific, character‑anchoring voice performances, each bringing such specificity and sharpness to their sheep roles that the flock feels less like an animated conceit and more like a genuine ensemble of flawed, funny, and oddly endearing personalities.

Final Word

Balda’s reimagining of Leonie Swann’s Three Bags Full is refreshing and highly endearing. Leave the fable aside, and the most soul‑stirring visual is that of the flock making it a habit to forget every bad thing that occurs in their life, all to the count of three. Is that how you define herd mentality? Imagine their life in a meat farm, having to bear the sight of losing their dear ones on a daily basis. Do animals forget that loss in three seconds? It’s that lingering emotion that stays with you. Balda’s fantastic flock scripts their own fabled story, but along the way they also provide you with plenty of food for thought. There’s no erasing this blissful experience from our memories.