Misconceptions, tribalism, mythologies are the under current of a classic British whodunit murder-mystery.  It would have been easier to run the gag of talking sheep into the comedic ground and pepper in some slap stick for good measure, but something else is afoot in this film. It has a message for all in the film and it’s about choice. We choose who we want to be, others will tell you who you are, but it really comes down to yourself. Who are you going to be? Are you going to cave-in to the labels that others give you or are you going to decide who you are yourself?  It’s not just the sheep that struggle with labels and assumptions, the people in the film do as well. 

It is a daring script at play here. It presents itself as light-hearted frolic, but the murder-mystry is the vessel and talking sheep is gag to have deep seeded conversations about death and belonging.  The sheep not only combat the stereotypes that they are given, but also have to deal with challenges of  the societal hierarchy in their own herd.  Equally, the town folk of Denbrook in the film are dealing with the same. People there are combating their stereotypes and the social structures.  It is a grossly political film without being so heavy-handed. What is most compelling is the sheep in the film had established a concept that their afterlife is destined to be a fluffy cloud in the sky. From that the elders state stories to their young ones about the beauty of the afterlife and destined to be placed in the sky. A touching and enduring component that itself is met with challenges among the herd. 

The film tries harder to get the tears from its audience than the laughs. The comedy is there as an almost automatic, but how the herd treats a winter born lamb will hit some hard. The reveal of the mystery is played great and doesn’t seem forced. 

Hugh Jackman is the headline here and Emma Thompson provides some weight and grandeur but this is actually a great showcase for Molly Gordon (Oh Hi) Nicholas Braun (Zola) and Nicholas Galitzine (The Craft: Legacy). It’s their performances that really stand out and I hope to see more of them. 

“Sheep Detectives” would make you gush tears or make your side hurt from laughing, it will do more than that. What does hurt it a little is the lagging from the late of the second act to the beginning of the third. Audiences might wince that is not as much of comedy as more of a dramedy. It’s a delicate film.  It’s gentle in its delivery of themes and its message of choosing who you are- just don’t regard it as a fluff piece. 8/10