The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

Directed by: Grant Heslov | 90 minutes | comedy | Actors: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, JK Simmons, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root, Stephen Lang, Rebecca Mader, Glenn Morshower, Terry Serpico, Nick Offerman, Merik Tadros, Robert Curtis Brown, Matt Newton, Arron Shiver Tim Griffin, Brad Grunberg, Billy Lockwood, Steve Witting, Joelle ten Damme

We are in a small space on an army base. We see a man on a chair. He concentrates, looks intense, tense. The man has a clear focus on…. Yes to what exactly? The camera turns and we see…. an angry goat with long ears and evil eyes, casually munching on a patch of greenery as befits a true herbivore. Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) stares at the goat for another twenty seconds, before it suddenly falls dead to the ground with a ninety-degree drop. Its usefulness is hard to find, but it is a special technique. This so-called staring technique is one of the many telepathic powers of the men of Bill Jango (Jeff Bridges), who leads a paranormal army unit in the times of the 1970s. Although it is mainly Lyn who seems to succeed in every exercise, unlike Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), who tries to sabotage the unit in various ways. They call themselves Jedis. They should be all they can be. And yes, it gets much more vague than this.

It should be clear by now that we are dealing with a bizarre plot. Precisely because of this fact, the filmmaker definitely needs the first 20 minutes to explain how it all came about. For example, we start with a number of flashbacks to the life of Bill Jango, in which we see how the new army unit is formed. Then past and present alternate with scenes with especially Lyn Cassady at the army base in earlier times and scenes with the journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) in the present, who is also the narrator of the story. Bob’s character will mainly be conceived to add some acceptable storyline to a potpourri of absurdism. Bob is just an average person, has a relationship with his high school sweetheart who doesn’t really like him anymore, and starts to mess around. In order not to lose his sweetheart and to prove that Bob is not a weak sister, he leaves for Iraq. He spends most of his time there self-pitying in a hotel room until he meets Lyn Cassady – a man on a mission. Because Bob has an exciting and revealing story in mind, the two continue their journey together from now on. Also, Lyn and Bob seem to have a deeper connection with each other.

Where Ewan McGregor just neatly portrays his character in the film, George Clooney acts a figure who secretly in the distance is somewhat reminiscent of John Cleese. Certainly because of the external features (Clooney with Mustache, wrinkles on the forehead) but also because of the body language and the dry interaction with McGregor. Also note the scene in the car in the desert, where Clooney uses the ‘twin-eye strategy’ on McGregor. ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’: a title where you might have expected a nice story about culture and Arab farmers. No, we are dealing with a dryly comical madness, in which you have to immerse yourself and do not forget to be a bit corny beforehand, that is recommended.