The family comedy “Investigation by Sheep” was released. Its creators are animator Kyle Balda, famous for cartoons about Minions, and screenwriter of the Chernobyl series Craig Mazin. The film is based on the novel by German writer Leonie Swann. The sheep detective story does not break new ground and does not pretend to be something serious, however, as film critic Anton Dolin says, the authors and actors clearly enjoyed making this harmless film, and are now ready to share positive emotions with the audience.
The film’s beginning, which follows a riotous title sequence (the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Film Company’s famous lion doesn’t roar, but bleats), can be jarring in its overly sweetness. Played by an unexpectedly smiling Hugh Jackman, farmer and shepherd George Hardy loves his sheep more than anything else in the world. Not only does he know them by name, cures them of all diseases, consoles the outcast, and encourages the cleverest, but he also earns money exclusively by shearing sheep, without ever putting them under the knife. In the evening, he reads to them aloud while sitting on the balcony of his modest house: detective stories, of course. George does it for his own pleasure and realizes that the sheep don’t understand a word. He is deeply mistaken. His entire flock has always been serious experts in solving detective mysteries.
As should be the case in a quality English detective story (and “Investigation by Sheep” imitates and parodies the genre a bit), the lyric suddenly gives way to a nightmare when good ol’ Hardy is found dead. The suspects are obvious: a rival shepherd (Tosin Cole) and the town butcher (Conleth Hill) dream of taking over the flock and finally start selling lamb, the priest (Cubna Holdbrook-Smith) is jealous of the kind shepherd, and the innkeeper (Hong Chow) has her own designs on George. In addition, a daughter (Molly Gordon, known from the TV series “The Bear”), given up for adoption by the deceased a long time ago, appears on the horizon, accompanied by an elegant lawyer (Emma Thompson). The village’s only policeman is doomed to uncover the mystery of a sudden murder – a mute and a cut-off (a serviceable performance by Nicholas Brown of “The Descendants”), and his assistant is a lively young reporter (Nicholas Galitsyn).
Confusion and chaos are part of the genre’s package. Even sheep understand this, especially the lover of the most insightful detective stories, who knew how to guess the killer long before the denouement – Lily (voice of Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Her personal doctor, Watson, is Mobil the Sapiens (voice of Chris O’Dowd), although others will also join in discussing the criminal mystery. Together they will have to find evidence and put forward hypotheses that will help the losing policeman at least complete the mission.
“Investigation is carried out by a sheep” is a simple image. The authors may have dreamed of creating a timeless classic, but what came out was something like another “Knives Out” with the same bunch of mediocre stars, poorly developed characters and a slightly more convoluted plot. But, as compensation for the exaggerations and shortcomings of the machinations, with a whole herd of the most beautiful animals.
The result is a beautiful spring film with a 0+ rating, perfect for group viewing. This is the best movie about sheep since the last Shaun the Sheep. By the way, the movie is a game, and the animation here is only on top, unlike the script. It’s as if the work was done by professionals.
The resonance of the topic – perhaps unconsciously – is also clear. “The investigation is conducted by sheep” – instructions for survival in a very scary world, where sudden and cruel death can await everyone. However, in a neat little world, whose comfort resembles Paddington Bear or Peter Rabbit, thoughts and conversations about unpleasant things are not accepted. One of the authors’ best discoveries is the fortunate ability of sheep to control amnesia: they can close their eyes on command and get rid of any traumatic impression or memory. This helps them not to think about death at all, and to sincerely believe that sheep do not die, but turn into clouds. Only monstrous black sheep Sebastian (voice of Bryan Cranston) tries to break this comfortable cocoon by telling others about the true structure of reality.
Based on the results of the viewing, we can say with confidence that Sebastian’s mission failed, thank God. After all, in essence, “Investigation is carried out by sheep” is not a detective story at all, but a full-fledged escape session for the whole family. So don’t be too surprised by the name of the creator of the worst apocalypses “Chernobyl” and “The Last of Us” in the credits. Craig Mazin is also a man and has the right to take a break from the otherworldly concerns of nature, in the company of talking and intelligent sheep, more humane than our colleagues.