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the men who stare at goats - by
Jade Sammons
Seen at Cineworld, Shrewsbury.
The Men Who Stare at Goats is the directing
debut of Grant Heslov, who enlisted his life-long friend and
producing partner, George Clooney into the main role of self-confessed
Jedi-Warrior Lyn Cassady. Cassady embarks upon a journey to
Iraq with Bob Wilton, a journalist played by Ewan McGregor,
who is desparate to prove his worth after a rather messy break
up.
The film, based upon the non-fiction
book of the same name by Jon Ronson, progresses through a
series of flash-backs to the 1980s, giving the viewer an insight
to Cassady’s rather unusual military life. Through these
flashbacks viewers meet Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), a Vietnam-veteran-turned-New-Age-hippie
who convinced the Army to let him turn soldiers into "warrior
monks" through meditation, mind-reading, and so forth.
The ultimate aim of this training is to kill with nothing
but the power of the mind. In one scene of the film, you see
Cassady use this power to kill a goat, therefore giving the
title of the piece.
As the flashbacks continue, a new ‘student’
of Django, Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) appears. There is an
instant rivalry between Larry and Lyn, which continues throughout
the latter stages in modern day Iraq.
Throughout Clooney is charismatic and
doesn’t take himself too seriously. This is matched
by Bridges and Spacey. However despite a convincing performance
from McGregor, it is not a memorable one. He is likable, yet
forgetful!
This film is a light hearted look at
the military without being disrespectful. It tries to ask
some questions about warfare with a mild satirical twist,
but it mostly aims to just have a good time. It ultimately
succeeds. A film which would be ideal for a cosy night in,
but not necessarily a classic for your collection.
Reviewed by Jade
Sammons - November 2009
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