Mysteries Musings: The Sheep Detectives and Rewatchability
We had read Three Bags Full Leonie Swann as part of our CozyCrimes book club, so I was really excited to see the movie adaptation. I had a strong suspicion that the culprit would be altered in The Sheep Detectives (I was correct!), and I was eager to see what other changes would go into effect to suit the different medium. I was extremely impressed with the choices that were made, and was just delighted by the movie in general.
I was also able to pay it the highest compliment that I can to a murder mystery – it has good rewatchability.
Mysteries are unique because, more so than in any other genre, the reader/viewer is in the same boat as the investigator character. The sleuth does not know who the killer is, and neither does the audience. Both are gathering clues and forming suspicions until an answer is eventually revealed at the end.
This experience can’t be recaptured in a repeat watch or viewing (unless enough time passes that you forget the ending!) Once you know the answer, you are no longer in the same position that the investigator is in at the start of the mystery. You have additional information that they do not.
This isn’t to say that you can’t rewatch or reread a favorite mystery. Sometimes it is fun to go back and watch analytically to see when clues are doled out and how you were misdirected or fooled by a red herring on the first go-through. You might want to appreciate nuanced performances by actors once you know what they’re hiding, or you might want to better note the thematic brilliance and Easter eggs in movies such as Knives Out.
There’s also a joy in returning to a favorite series. I have seen every episode of Murder, She Wrote many times, but I still love watching it. It’s become less about the solving of a case since I know the culprit, and more of an appreciation of the iconic charm and cleverness of Jessica Fletcher. I can also love jumping back to remember a character’s journey or a couple’s slow burn romance over several seasons.
However, there can also be times when, after the answer is revealed, it’s boring to go back and see how the mystery unraveled. When so much of the plot is based on not knowing, when you do know, it can feel lackluster.
There have been books I read that I absolutely loved the first time I read and I would still definitely recommend to others, that I have found difficult to reread because I was not on the same journey that the sleuth was. Secrets were being doled out that were riveting the first time, but didn’t hold the same titillation the second time.
The Sheep Detectives is fantastic because, besides having a satisfying murder mystery to solve, it offers a unique perspective and is a story with character growth. There is more depth to the tale than just getting an answer to whodunit, and honestly, it made me cry in the same way Homeward Bound does when watching as an adult. It’s very funny, but also very moving. Ironically, for a movie about sheep, it has a lot of humanity. This makes it something I will want to rewatch again and again.
