The Men Who Stare At Goats will always make me laugh and I’ll always find this particular story extremely fascinating. Adapted by the smart screenwriter Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Frank, The Debt, Our Brand is Crisis) from the brilliant book by gonzo-journalist and musician Jon Ronson, the film was directed by Grant Heslov, who is better known for his producing work with George Clooney on a roll-call of superb films such as The American, Argo, Good Night, and Good Luck, and The Ides of March (to name just a few).
The film carries an all-star cast, with everyone doing subversive and strange work, most especially Jeff Bridges, who has never come as close to replicating The Dude on screen as he did here.
The wild narrative also afforded one of cinema’s greatest tough guys — Stephen Lang — the chance to do some really funny comedic work; Lang’s facial expressions in this film alone make it worth seeing!
Yes, the movie feels like a tall-tale lark, with the plot centering on the American military’s attempt to utilize psi-ops as a combat tactic, but it’s not as the film is based on real events, which makes it even more lunatic.
You also have the fantastic visual eye of cinematographer Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood, Michael Clayton) giving the entire piece some really cool moments of odd-ball style, while the totally stony vibe will certainly appeal to a certain type of moviegoer who can appreciate a third act moment of zonked-out LSD-silliness that really just needs to be seen to be believed.
This is one of those films where everyone making it, both in front of and behind the camera, must’ve assumed that nobody would see it, and yet regardless, everyone looks to be having a wild time, especially George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, and Bridges. Besides, there are TONS of shots in this movie that feature REAL GOATS.
Review by Nick Clement
- The Men Who Stare At Goats
Summary
This is one of those films where everyone making it, both in front of and behind the camera, must’ve assumed that nobody would see it, and yet regardless, everyone looks to be having a wild time, especially George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, and Bridges. Besides, there are TONS of shots in this movie that feature REAL GOATS.
