Who Dreams Of Sheep Detectives?
This week's writing
The first week of summer break, my son and I enjoyed an early afternoon matinee of The Sheep Detectives. He’d been interested since seeing the trailer, and when I mentioned the movie to my wife, she assumed I was making it all up. (In fairness, that is something I might do.) I thought Hugh Jackman’s starring role would sell her on the film, but she dismissed it as a desperate cash grab after Jackman’s divorce. She’s probably right, but not every obvious divorce settlement movie is terrible. The Sheep Detectives is quite charming, and best of all only 109 minutes.
The Sheep Detectives is based on German crime writer Leonie Swann’s novel Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story, which has very little in common with the movie and not just because the book is in German. I won’t spoil too much of the film. I’ll just say that it’s actually a well-crafted mystery that plays fair with its revelations and offers clever twists on standard tropes from this genre. The screenplay is by Craig Mazin, who once shared a dorm room with Ted Cruz and hated the experience. Director Kyle Balda delivers genuine emotional beats in a movie with, you know, sheep detectives.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who my son only knows from Marvel movies, plays the head sheep detective, and it’s a compelling, deeply layered performance. Yes, she’s a sheep but she’s no less real than any human on screen. Emma Thompson steals every scene in which she appears because she’s awesome.
Naturally, because of the majority sheep cast, the movie takes a firm stand against slaughtering sheep for their delicious rich, earthy meat. I’m most likely eating lamb or mutton as you read this, but I’m fairly sure none of them could solve mysteries, not even the straightforward “what wine or ale pairs best with this lamb?”
It’s still spring for another few days, so if you haven’t already, please consider taking advantage of my “Spring Fling” subscription sale — 40 percent off the usual annual paid subscriber rate. That’s just $30 a year. Thanks to all who have upgraded to paid subscriber status recently.
I’m on vacation this week, so the new writing was limited.
I lamented the inevitable loss of Doctor Who while wishing the revival could have had a better ending.
Meg Reid, the executive director of the Hub City Writers Project in Spartanburg, South Carolina, joined me on the podcast to discuss Southern literature.
Yes, this is running on Thursday because my usual Juneteenth piece will appear tomorrow.
And here are some holiday photos. We started in Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of Shakespeare.
It’s understandable that a local taxi service would have a Shakespeare-themed name, but Othello? Was he known for driving skills when not murdering his wife? The clever David J. Loehr suggested “I-a-go Taxis, but the cars are all Yugos.”
Then we spent a few days in Chester and enjoyed a day trip to Wales. There were castles!
And me after a Vesper
Today, we’re taking the train up to York. When a travel by train in England, I think of this scene from The Avengers episode “The Town of No Return.” However, my tea service was nowhere near as fancy.
See you soon.
I was in London in 1978, with a group from school. The original trip included Stratford and Stonehenge, but the organization scrapped that tour, and we had to settle for Paris in addition to London. Well, settle isn't the right word! Both London and Paris were awesome, and I've not made it back to Europe since then, so glad that my parents let me take the trip. They paid for it, but I had to get a job to earn my spending money.
Looks like y'all are having a great trip!
I also thought the cousin who told me about The Sheep Detectives was making it up, but I enjoyed it in all its campy glory. I did think there were too many plot holes though, and my usual post movie “but-why-did?” had to be suspended. Watching it reminded me of watching Mary Poppins Returns, a movie that was pure joy in a dark time. I didn’t feel quite as hopeful after The Sheep Detectives, and I didn’t feel like I had to watch it again, but it was worth the afternoon in the tiny auditorium that is a slice of the theatre of my youth, where the baroque balcony trim juts through the newer dividing wall that made one theatre into six.
The trip pics are lovely. It’s so nice to see these flashes of regular old reality through the dystopia.