‘Sheep In The Box’ Review – A Rare, Emotionally Manipulative Misstep From A Master Filmmaker

Some viewers have hard lines in what they are watching. For some, it is not wanting to see animals (especially dogs) be injured or die. For others, they do not wish to see children in danger (You can thank Gene Siskel for that one). But likely, some of the reasoning is the same. Namely, it can feel cheap and overused. Movies are all manipulation, but it becomes an annoyance when you can feel the hand of the creators telling you what you should feel. The great ones manipulate you without you feeling that breath on your neck. So, it is a shame when a great director falls prey to this kind of simplicity, even if using a slightly different style.

Hirokazu Kore-eda is, in many people’s estimation, indeed one of the greats. Many of his works, including Shoplifters, Broker, and Monster, are highly thought of and awarded. He has been able to manipulate audiences emotionally through subtle, underscored moments that leave a lasting impression, even years later. Given all of this history, it is a giant disappointment that his latest, Sheep in the Box, is so obvious about its machinations that one can see just about every emotional beat coming miles before it occurs. 

Sheep in the Box tells the story of Otone Komoto (Haruka Ayase), an accomplished architect, and her brusque husband, Kensuke (Daigo Yamamoto), who have endured the loss of their young child. The film purposely obfuscates the manner of the child’s death and, instead, focuses on how they might move forward. The film is set in a relatively pristine near future, which, frankly, is not to Kore-eda’s advantage. He excels in the grimy realities, all while instilling humor and family within. Here, although wonderfully built, this world is all hard lines and clinically white surfaces. While this does the job of showing us that the family has hidden pain, it does nothing to excite the eye. However, in this near future, they have the ability to build androids that look exactly as your loved ones did before they passed.

Given that this is not new territory, the film has its work cut out for it. Another difficulty is that, because of this tragedy, there is a lack of emotionality at play. While this is understandable from a character perspective, it makes for a difficult process to watch. Luckily, the leads are both excellent. As they come from different perspectives on their son/robot, it is exciting to watch this play out. Otone wants to give all of her missing love to this child, while Kensuke is distant and sometimes angry. Watching these two styles interplay is the highlight of the film, but one can never get past the surprising simplicity of this film, 

There will likely be no surprises, and when they do happen, the film seems less interested and moves back to more familiar ground. The biggest shock here is that Kore-eda has made such an obvious film. It is one that hits every emotional beat that it can, but it is consistently at half strength. As a viewer, we all want to be pulled along the road of a story and truly experience it. Instead, Sheep in the Box keeps us at a distance, and we can hear ourselves thinking, “Oh, yes, I guess that would be sad,” instead of actually feeling it. 

The meandering nature of the film, which could be seen as realistic given the circumstances of the characters, is a constant annoyance. The film has too many viewpoints, and none of them seem to stick. Is this a film about grief? About parenthood? About what it means to be human? It is all of those things, but not a particularly interesting one about any of the answers. Given where the film ends up, it could have been much better as a mystery about what happened to their child. There are, of course, bits of that, but nowhere near enough to maintain continued interest.

Sheep in the Box has an interesting premise, but seemingly no interest in standing out from the crowd. Kore-eda seems to have had too many ideas, all connected in theory, but not in actuality. Ayase and Yamamoto both give their all, but are held back by a script from Kore-eda that never manages to understand the points that it is attempting to make. If a film is going to manipulate us, it needs to have a specific goal in mind. This wants to have it all, and ends up with very little.

Sheep in the Box is currently playing in select theaters courtesy of NEON. The film will expand to additional markets in the coming weeks. 

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