A surprisingly significant black comedy

Rating: 8/10 (15 October 2010)

Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a journalist assigned to interview a man who believes that he acquired psychic powers. When the man shows Wilton a video of himself killing his pet hamster with his mind Wilton becomes transfixed by the story. When Wilton discovers that his wife is having an affair however, he decides to prove his worth by travelling into Iraq, following the US invasion. He continues his investigation of the man's claims of the New Earth Army: a US military organisation, run by hippies, who train soldiers to become Jedi's with psychic powers. These powers were supposedly tested on animals such as goats and granted men the ability to run through walls and kill things with the mere glimpse of their eyes. By accident, Wilton encounters Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a former Jedi who still believes he is on mission. He reveals to Wilton more about the organisation, including a rival Jedi student (Kevin Spacey) and the use of drugs such as LSD, courtesy of New Earth Army's hippie leader Bill Django (Jeff Bridges)
The Men Who Stare at Goats is directed by Grant Heslov, who previously wrote the screenplay to Goodnight and Good Luck with George Clooney. This is significant because while although this film might just seem like an insane, loopy comedy, at its core there is a similar truth to Heslov's previous work: the need for integrity in journalism, no matter how it will be received. It is also important that one is told at the beginning of this film that there is more truth to this story than one might expect. Underneath the wackiness and straight-faced humour, the subtext of the film and the subject matter is a lot darker and more timely than one might initially suspect. The film is essentially about journalism, but also the dangers of brainwashing and the manipulation of soldiers before they are taken into combat. In one of the film's darkest moments, a soldier who has been training with the New Earth Army and given LSD, walks into the middle of an army base naked with a pistol in his hand and begins firing shots. The camera cuts away from him and the audience here's one final blast of the gun. It what is a wickedly funny film, this is a surprisingly black moment that certifies Heslov's message and his concerns. Sometimes the subtext becomes clouded beneath the humour and some may lose sight of the seriousness of the subject matter. Regardless, it is still certainly there and it is possibly because of these left-wing views that the film was rather coldly received in the USA.
One of the reasons why there are so many laughs throughout the film is because the very talented and rich cast has smartly discovered a near- perfect tone for their performances. Given that the psychic powers aspect of the story is so ludicrous and unlikely it makes it all the more enjoyable that the characters in the film, particularly Clooney's, play it straight and believe in their supposed capabilities with complete seriousness. Clooney here is reminiscent of the character he played in Burn After Reading, thinking that he is a lot smarter than he actually is. It is through his incompetence and the fluky nature in which he escapes several scenes without his powers that the laughs are delivered frequently. The scenes in which he tries to demonstrate the psychic abilities of his eyes to Wilton are among some of the very best in the film. There are also a pleasing amount of laughs from McGregor too as the occasionally hysterical journalist, who realises that he must break through all kinds of barriers and walls to uncover the truth to any story and also fine work from both Spacey and Bridges, who have a lot of fun with their rather silly parts.
The Men Who Stare at Goats is a small film, one that has been disappointingly limited in its distribution, but it is extremely enjoyable because of the many laughs and precise tone of the characterisation. All of the actors here have been smartly directed to play their roles serious, allowing one to see the hilarity of this very far-fetched philosophy. While some of the silliness and humour occasionally overshadows the film's messages, the dark subtext still remains and in reflection it reminds one of the dangers of mental conditioning as a means of justifying war, ensuring that this is a surprisingly significant black comedy.