The Men Who Stare at Goats
November 6, 2009
Director: Grant Heslov
Starring: Ewan McGregor, George Clooney
Release Date: November 6, 2009
The Men Who Stare at Goats is much more complex than its startlingly blunt title suggests. It’s about more than an elite task force of soldiers who are trained to use their supposed psychic powers as a means of killing farm animals.
At its core, Goats is really about a man trying to come to grips with the fact that his wife has left him and that he’s at a frightening crossroads in his life. It’s often hilarious, but it never manages to take on the spiritual heft that the material promises.
Oddly, the story loosely (very loosely) parallels the events found in the Star Wars saga. In that sense, casting Ewan McGregor as journalist Bob Wilton is a stroke of genius—he is, after all, the Obi-Wan of the 21st century. He’s more of a “Luke Skywalker” here, though, but the device works. The frequent mention of Jedi warriors, the resolution of conflict(s) through peaceful means, and the presence of a villain with a mechanical prosthetic (which just so happens to be black) will make the intergalactic associations screenwriter Peter Straughan was aiming for crystal clear. And, being a huge fan of the alien universe George Lucas has so expertly spun over the past 30+ years, I found this to be an amusing and clever approach.
As previously mentioned, Bob, who works as a reporter at a small paper in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has just been informed by his wife that she’s leaving him for his editor. Distraught and unsure about what direction his life is headed in, Bob rashly decides to head to Iraq to cover the events unfolding on the front lines of the War on Terror. Along his journey, he encounters Lyn Cassady—a man who claims to have been trained to be a psychic soldier by the U.S. Army. Cassady’s name instantly sounds familiar to Bob because, while still in Ann Arbor, he had written an article on a local who claimed to have been a member of the same outfit that Cassady had come from, and said local had named Cassady as the psychic super-soldier of the future. So, in what amounts to an incredible coincidence (or is it?), Bob and Lyn link up. Lyn agrees to allow Bob to follow him into Iraq—while on a mission—so Bob can write a story about this admittedly fantastic project that the U.S. government had been funding for lo these many years.
As these two travel along dusty desert roads, much of Cassady’s background is revealed by way of flashback. Much of this is hilarious; there were several scenes where I found myself laughing out loud. Almost all of these instances were the result of the utter ridiculousness of The First Earth Battalion (the official monicker under which these paranormally gifted soldiers were trained). Making great use of juxtaposition, we’re presented with an Army that’s in complete contrast to everything we know about usual combat training tactics. Instead of doing pushups, engaging in target practice, or running through muddy sloughs at the crack of dawn, these soldiers practice various dance techniques, meditate with yoga, and try to hone their ESP abilities by guessing what’s inside locked metal boxes. In all actuality, they’re nothing more than free-wheeling hippies. One could suggest that there’s a prevalent subtext here about the military’s use of often violent force as a means of accomplishing all goals, and this is likely true; however this is all background noise in my estimation, as Goats stakes its claim with viewers on a much more personal level by allowing us to feel empathy with Bob. He’s had a rough go of it, and the fact that he takes a leap of faith with Cassady (a person anyone in their right mind would perceive as a lunatic) allows us to vicariously live out a ludicrous fantasy where we embark on a metaphysical journey of truth, forsaking all real-world common sense in the process.
Often times, though, the story feels like it’s not headed in any tangible direction, and there’s never a truly serious tone to the often solemn events that take place. Goats is, of course, intended to be a comedy, but there are so many other promising themes at work that one wishes Heslov would’ve at least attempted to imbed a perceivable degree of seriousness to what’s happening on screen. What ultimately hurts the film the most is the absence of any sense of urgency—despite being kidnapped by mercenaries, for example, we know that Lyn and Bob are never in any real danger. In a way, the whole thing almost ends up being too whimsical for it’s own good.
The final product, though, does get the job done. We’ve got a protagonist that we can relate to, and the vast majority of the humor works. Who knew staring at goats and driving blindfolded could be both humorous and revelatory?
out of 5
–Chris Flowers
Rated R for language, some drug content and brief nudity.
Check out the trailer for The Men Who Stare at Goats:
