IT would be easy to dismiss the plot of quirky war comedy-drama The Men Who Stare at Goats as implausible, if it wasn’t based on a highly-regarded non-fiction book of the same name.
The 2004 book written by Jon Ronson detailed the US government’s exploration of New Age and paranormal concepts such as mind-reading and telekinesis over three decades up to and including the Middle East deployments of the past decade.
The title refers to an experiment where a “psychic soldier” would literally stare at a goat to try and stop its heart, and uncover a deadly offensive capability that could be applied in combat.
Ewen McGregor plays journalist Bob Wilton, who runs off to Iraq after discovering his wife is having an affair with his editor.
Seeking a story, Wilton gets more than he expected when he meets Special Forces operative Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), whom Wilton remembers mentioned in an old interview with a man who claimed to have psychic powers who he dismissed as crazy at the time.
Cassady tells Wilton about the secret New Earth Army founded by officer Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) after Django spent years exploring New Age movements in the 70s, following an idea that came to him after he was shot in the Vietnam War that armies could be effective without resorting to physical violence.
Cassady claims to be on a secret mission, and lets Wilton tag along in a series of desert misadventures that leave Wilton wondering if Cassady is the real psychic deal, or just plain crazy.
The Men Who Stare at Goats contains some very black humour that relates to actual techniques and experiments that would be quite horrific in real life.
There is also irreverent humour, which helps give the film an identity and possible future cult status, though some of the short sharp quirky humour seems a little tacked-on.
The impressive cast give some enjoyable performances, including Clooney’s manic Cassady, Bridges’ spaced-out Django, and Kevin Spacey as former Django student Larry Hooper, who has no qualms with exploring the dark side of psychic warfare.
While this style of filmmaking is not for everybody, those who do enjoy the first hour or so may be disappointed by the final 20 minutes, which seem a bit on the slapstick side.
The Men Who Stare at Goats is an odd beast that will appeal to lovers of dark humour and quirky dialogue, though its flaws will probably keep it from the top of anyone’s personal best-of-2010 list.
The Men Who Stare at Goats (M)
Directed by: Grant Heslov
Starring: George Clooney, Ewen McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey
Rating: Three stars (93 minutes)
Screening: now