Quirky Take on the Iraq War

Rating: 6/10 (6 January 2014)

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS has an intriguing premise - that there exist a group of men within the US Army who succeed in persuading their opponents to down their weapons through auto-suggestion, or better still, sheer power of will. The group is led by Jeff Bridges, who adopts a New Age approach to training them; Kevin Spacey is his rival, who ultimately supersedes him. The two central characters, played by Ewan McGregor and George Clooney, are like chalk and cheese: McGregor becomes unwittingly involved in the group's activities, although ostensibly seeking to enliven his otherwise humdrum existence; Clooney is almost entirely wedded to Bridges' philosophy, although we never quite know whether he possesses superhuman (or should it be super- psychological) powers or not. The film is certainly interesting in terms of subject-matter, and the distinguished cast perform their roles competently; but in terms of tone, we never know whether it is intended to be comic, satiric or tragic. Moreover there are certain elements - especially when the group interact with the locals - that have a distinctly orientalist tone; once again the non-European actors are treated as secondary, both in terms or roles and in terms of culture. But the film is nonetheless well worth watching