Mother’s Day weekend welcomed two terrific new tales about talking beasts.
I can’t make the connection between moms and anthropomorphic animals — but in any case, your Webb movie-maven herewith reviews both films at once:
Released in theaters on May 8, The Sheep Detectives looked like a hard sell; but it’s already a hit with crowds and critics. Indeed, the District theater where I caught it that Saturday was pretty much packed.
The premise has a likable British shepherd reading nightly mystery novels to his large and varied flock of sheep. Little does he know, the critters can understand him perfectly; and they usually follow these sessions by speculating on “whodunit” — though they cannot communicate directly with humans through anything more than a standard “baa.”
One morning, the kindly shepherd is found mysteriously murdered, and the sheep join ranks to help the town’s lone policeman solve this crime.
Needless to say, that set-up could run off the rails if it weren’t handled carefully; but director Karl Balda — who helmed popular kid-films like The Lorax and Minions — wields just the right light touch: a good deal of mild comedy; handsome scenery with a whiff of fairy-tale; a wonderful cast in both voicing and live-action; a sweet, subtle score by Christophe Beck; and in the end, an impressive emotional undertow. Don’t be surprised if you have tears in your eyes more than once!
Barda’s cast includes (playing sheep) Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd and Patrick Stewart; Hugh Jackman stars as the shepherd, with other humans played by Emma Thompson and Nicholas Braun — the latter as a bumbling local bobby.
Which reminds me: With all the comedy, comely visuals and fetching friendships, it’s easy to forget that Sheep Detectives is a dandy little mystery; I had absolutely no idea “whodunit.” And it’s quite family friendly, too.
Except for a sprinkling of strong language, you could say the same for Remarkably Bright Creatures, a thoroughly charming new Netflix feature that likewise premiered on May 8.
Sally Field stars as the aging cleaning lady at an aquarium in Washington State. Alfred Molina voices Marcellus, the facility’s sagacious Pacific octopus, who narrates much of the film even as he tries to help the struggling humans — to the point of occasionally leaving his tank.
One of the people on the cephalopod’s radar is Cameron — played by Lewis Pullman (son of well-known actor Bill). Considerably down on his luck, young Cameron wanders into town in his dilapidated van, inherited from an absentee mother who died of a drug overdose.
Cameron is searching for his long-lost father, while Field’s Tova Sullivan still hasn’t gotten past the death of her husband and then shortly later, her teen-age son.
Forming an uneasy friendship, these two souls struggle toward healing — helped not only by Marcellus but also other promising oddballs: a young lady who owns a paddle-board shop; a friendly grocery-owner who is pining for Tova (beautifully played by Colm Meaney); and a gaggle of gossipy girlfriends for Tova.
Like the weekend’s other talking-animal tale, RBC has just the right blend of fetching scenery, whimsical comedy and wonderful acting.
Indeed, for Boomers who grew up on The Flying Nun, it’s easy to forget that Field holds no less than two Oscars for Best Actress; she’s always a pleasure to watch — with a couple of really exceptional scenes here.
Pullman, with a robust resume going back to 2013, continues to wield real acting chops; and he will, BTW, have a role in Mel Brooks’ upcoming Spaceballs sequel (his father had starred in the original).
With a free evening on Mother’s Day, my wife and I renewed our Netflix membership partly so we would watch this film.
But I’ve also got my eyes on that streaming service’s hot-looking (and well-reviewed) four-part modernization of William Golding’s classic Lord of the Flies. As it happens, that has a talking beast, too.
But not the kind that helps human beings.
