Film Review: The Men Who Stare At Goats

It's a premise so hard to believe, it can't be true.  Or is it? Jon Ronson dug into it and discovered that, apparently, the US military invested in programs to develop soldiers with psychic powers, to include the ability to become invisible, walk through walls, disarm opponents, and even stop a goat's heart just by staring at it.  Ronson's findings were published as a book, which started off sounding cooky and silly, but went into some dark, eye-opening territory by its second half, as the book drew some connections with the modern War on Terror (primarily with the use of subliminal messaging, drug experimentation, and unusual torture techniques).

In 2009, this film came along, dramatizing Ronson's book.  With an upbeat tone and a quirky sense of humor, the film induces some decent laughter; some of the biggest highlights include seeing a general trying to walk through a wall, seeing the military embrace New Age hippy culture, and of course, watching guys staring at goats.  The tone is straight-faced, making it all seem the sillier, but without sacrificing too much of its plausibility.  The comedy doesn't always work, and the film's pacing suffers from a few hiccups, but otherwise it's rarely a bore.

The film takes many liberties with the source material, to the point where it distances itself from its non-fiction roots and becomes, simply, a story.  The narrative follows the same path as the book, but uses a few more twists and dramatizations to make it stand out more as an actual story, rather than as any type of journalism.  So, as a comedy, the film is decent; as a presentation of the book's findings, there are a few embellishments, exaggerations, and a lot of facts tweaked around (including name changes galore, more added to the events, more added to the narrator's life story, and some other stuff omitted).  Ultimately, there may be some truth scattered around this film, but it's dramatized to the point where it's best seen for its entertainment value rather than anything enlightening.

This film uses good and steady photography and editing.  Acting is great; George Clooney steals the show throughout with a perfectly nuanced and humorous performance, while Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey all do the best they can.  The writing is decently sardonic and witty.  This production uses good, real-looking sets, props, and costumes.  Music is good, especially with the old-fashioned rock.

Looking at this film from the comedic level, it satisfies on the same level as a Coen Bros movie, although it's not quite at the same level of brilliance.  If you're looking for more actual facts on the movie's subject matter, you'd be better off reading the original book and doing some more research.  Overall, I'm still not even sure whether or not I really believe in the subject matter's validity, but on film, it is pretty amusing.

3.5/5 (Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Pretty Good | Film:  Pretty Good)