The Icelandic version was better – and had better knits: Rams reviewed

Rams is an average film with a better film trying to get out, and you may already have seen that better film. It’s the Icelandic one, of the same name, released in 2015, on which this Australian version is based. That was played as a spare, stark, bitterly dark comedy set amid ice and blizzards and featuring men with unkempt beards, whereas this is sunnier and more kempt and therefore significantly blander. You may even, at various points, feel as though you’ve been trapped in an overlong episode of All Creatures Great and Small (nothing against All Creatures Great and Small, but two hours of it?).

The film stars the always kempt, perpetually handsome Sam Neill whose performance here involves considerable amounts of staring into the middle distance in that thoughtful, squinty-eyed way — Clint Eastwood-style. He is Colin and he has a brother, Les (Michael Caton). The action has been uprooted to remote Western Australia where the pair share the family land, live in houses less than 100 metres apart, and haven’t talked for 40 years. They love their clever collie, which passes notes between them when they have to communicate, and they love their sheep, but not each other. Actually, they really, really, really love their sheep. Colin is always talking to his ‘girls’. ‘You’re beautiful. And you’re beautiful. But you’re the best.’ This is all rather touching, particularly if you, too, find sheep endearing, and also quite remarkable (you know they have nearly 360º vision?).

But disaster strikes. Colin notices something about the ram that has just won best-in-show for Les (Colin came second, grrr). It’s the disease OJD and, being the responsible one, he contacts the local vet who contacts the ministry and now all their sheep will have to be destroyed.