Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is an average reporter living an ordinary life, but when his wife leaves him for his newspaper editor, he decides to do “what so many men before me have done”: he flies off to war. And so begins his strange adventure in “The Men Who Stare at Goats.”
Desperate for a story that will take him overseas, Wilton runs into Lyn Cassidy (George Clooney), a psychic soldier recently called back into commission for an undercover mission in Iraq. As Cassidy explains his secret powers and the military program he trained under, Wilton begins more and more to believe the incredible tales he hears.
Based on the book by Jon Ronson, a Welsh author and documentary filmmaker, the movie follows the rambling, stylized reporting of Wilton throughout his journey and makes for a somewhat jarring, experience.
In book or documentary form, the constant rabbit trails presented might be refreshing, but the style does not translate well into this film. Instead, Ronson’s technique becomes a deathtrap for exposition, weighing the movie down with any detail screenwriter Peter Straughan deems as interesting. And thus, a film with a great premise and talented actors reverts into another muddled message movie.
But, the message is so ridiculous it is almost forgivable. In lieu of a contemporary matter that demands our action, this partly true story shows a completely ludicrous military initiative that seems harmless enough to ignore. Who knew that there was a New Earth program for training paranormal soldiers in the art of clairvoyance? And yet, who really cares? For all its unexpected charm, “The Men Who Stare at Goats” is still an unsound, poorly thought-out narrative.
As an interesting side note, most of the films George Clooney connects himself to are quite confounding to studios. Though he carries a certain star power and charisma, his films strike a very insubstantial audience. It seems that people love him more than they love his films.
After viewing its trailer, one might think this film to be a buddy comedy, and indeed, this is how the film is marketed. Such marketing is a definite misstep by the studio. If you look again at the movie trailer, you’ll realize that nearly ever joke in the movie is cut into those few minutes.
This is not a Hollywood comedy by any means. At times it is dead serious and at others it is utterly immature. But through it all, the film has an absolute ridiculousness that keeps its viewers shaking their heads. Really, the movie is much more akin to an indie dramedy, full of quirks and hidden gems of wisdom.
In fact, the humor plays only a small role in the film. What the story is really about is believing. Wilton enters the film practically lifeless, feeling he has little meaning or purpose. But through his adventure with Cassidy, he finds that there is something different in him. He has an order to his life. He believes in something. Sure, what he believes in is completely laughable, yet there is something there, something that Wilton was missing. By the end of the film, Wilton believes that people can pass through walls and kill goats with their thoughts.
So how does it end? Does Bob Wilton get the girl of his dreams? Does his old editor get fired, leaving space for him to move up in the office? Does anyone care enough to read the story he writes about Lyn Cassidy?
In reality, those are the wrong questions. It does not matter that Wilton has become a class-A nut. What matters is that Wilton has something to believe in and, thanks to Cassidy, he is much better off than he ever was as an average reporter.
As deeply flawed as this tale is, “The Men Who Stare at Goats” is infinitely more accessible than any number of typical Hollywood movies. And for this reason alone, it should be praised.
