FILMREVIEW: The Men Who Stare at Goats

Tough-talkin’ no-nonsense military men seem like unlikely fans of touchy-feely New Age practices and clairvoyance. So The Men Who Stare at Goats, based on the US Army’s approximately real-life investigation of the potential use of spirituality and psychic hokum for strategic purposes, at least offers an intriguing premise.

The film follows the adventures of reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), who heads off to Kuwait to cover the Iraq War after being summarily dumped by his wife. A chance encounter sees him link up with Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a retired elite soldier who was part of the Jedi Warriors, a special army unit tasked with developing invisibility, remote viewing, intuition and a sort of mind control which they practice by staring at goats and willing them to die (hence the title). The story then flits back and forward in time, detailing Bob and Lyn’s scrapes in the Middle East (including their inevitable kidnap) and the previous development of the psychic unit, where free-thinking, pony-tailed officer Bill Django’s (Jeff Bridges) efforts to channel positive psychology to military ends are secretly being undermined by bitter recruit Larry Hooper’s (Kevin Spacey) enmity with Lyn. Bob and Lyn’s adventures in the present story arc reveal more about Lyn’s motives for being in Kuwait along with the fate of the Jedi Warriors and their discoveries.

Though the story is based loosely on real events, the source material is in fact several vignettes, which the filmmakers have cobbled together to form a more linear plot. As a result, there is an episodic element to proceedings, with the narrative thrust feeling slightly forced. The ending in particular feels tacked on and out of kilter with the general tone. Viewers may also feel some discomfort in the idea of this kind of silly humor being derived from the Iraq War, the horrors of which are still fresh in the collective consciousness. The film’s brief, late skirmish with the emotive issue of the torture of prisoners of war feels especially incongruous, given the light-hearted framework.

But while it doesn’t hang together entirely satisfactorily, The Men Who Stare at Goats is a refreshingly original comedy – about as rare in Hollywood as a well adjusted child star – and as such is to be applauded. There is obvious comic potential in an army officer being funded to attend naked hot tub parties and encouraging his soldiers to dance to Billy Idol by way of improving military effectiveness. And if there was any risk of the film’s whimsical nature annoying the audience, it is offset by the lead actors: Clooney is as likeable as always (even with an unflattering moustache and 1970s-style long hair for much of the film) and McGregor is a suitable everyman foil. Bridges and Spacey provide high-caliber support, though the latter is underused and his part feels shoehorned in.

The general silliness is also punctuated by genuinely thought-provoking moments. It’s not clear whether Django’s statistic that only 15-20 percent of new soldiers shoot to kill (with the others deliberately missing, avoiding firing at all or pretending to be busy doing something else) is true, but it’s a fascinating idea. While its ingredients don’t really add up to an entirely gratifying whole, this quirky jumble compensates with irreverence, wit and spark.