The Men Who Stare at Goats (film)

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The Men Who Stare at Goats
The Men Who Stare at Goats poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Grant Heslov
Screenplay by Peter Straughan
Based on The Men Who Stare at Goats
by Jon Ronson
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Robert Elswit
Edited by Tatiana S. Riegel
Music by Rolfe Kent
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 8, 2009 (2009-09-08)(Venice)
  • November 6, 2009 (2009-11-06)(United Kingdom and United States)
Running time
94 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$24 million [2]
Box office$69 million [3]

The Men Who Stare at Goats is a 2009 satirical black comedy war film directed by Grant Heslov, adapted by Peter Straughan, and starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey. It was produced by Clooney's and Heslov's production company Smokehouse Pictures. The film is a fictionalized version of Jon Ronson's 2004 book of the same title of an investigation into attempts by the U.S. military to employ psychic powers as a weapon — which, in turn, is a companion to a British miniseries Crazy Rulers of the World. [4] [5]

Contents

The film premiered at the 66th Venice International Film Festival on September 8, 2009, and went on general release in the United States and the United Kingdom on November 6, 2009. The film received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

In a short prelude, U.S. Army General Dean Hopgood is painfully thwarted in an attempt to pass paranormally through a solid wall by simply running into it.

Ann Arbor Daily Telegram reporter Bob Wilton's wife leaves him for the editor. To prove himself, Bob flies to Kuwait to report on the Iraq War. He stumbles onto the story of a lifetime when he meets retired U.S. Army Special Forces operator Lyn Cassady, who reveals he was part of a unit training psychic spies to develop parapsychological skills including invisibility, remote viewing, and phasing.

In 1972, Army officer Bill Django, after falling out of a helicopter in Vietnam, found his newly recruited men unable or unwilling to fire on a Viet Cong soldier before being shot in the chest. He then underwent a fact-finding mission prompted by a vision of a female Viet Cong soldier who says "their gentleness is their strength." Django's mission immersed him in the New Age movement so that, when he returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in 1980, he had long braided hair and a tattoo of an All-seeing Eye surmounting a pyramid on his chest.

Facilitated by the credulous General Hopgood, Django led the training of a New Earth Army, with Lyn Cassady and Larry Hooper as his top students. The two developed a rivalry over their opposing views on implementing the New Earth Army's philosophy. Lyn wanted to emphasize the teachings' positive side, such as resolving conflict peacefully, whereas Larry was interested in the "dark side" of its military application.

Lyn takes Bob into Iraq. Kidnapped by criminals who want to sell them to insurgents, they escape with fellow hostage Mahmud Daash and are rescued by a private security detail led by Todd Nixon. Fleeing when the detail is caught in a firefight fiasco with another American security detail, Bob and Lyn continue on Lyn's mission prompted by Lyn's vision of Bill Django.

After their car is disabled by an IED Bob and Lyn wander in the desert. Lyn reveals that he had stopped a goat's heart to test the limit of his mental abilities, and believes this evil deed has cursed him and the New Earth Army. It's also revealed that Hooper conducted an unauthorized LSD experiment in which a soldier killed himself, forcing Django out of the Army.

Bob and Lyn are rescued at a camp run by PSIC, a private research firm engaged in psychic and psychological experiments on a herd of goats and some captured locals. To Lyn's dismay, Larry runs the firm and employs Django, now a depressed alcoholic. Bob learns the ways of the New Earth Army and they spike the base's food and water with LSD and free the goats and captured locals, in an attempt to remove the curse. Lyn and Django fly off in a helicopter, disappearing into the sky "like all shamans".

Bob returns to work as a reporter and writes an article about his experience with Lyn. He is frustrated that the story's only portion to be aired is how the captives were forced to listen to the Barney & Friends theme song for 24 hours, which dilutes his story to the level of a joke. Bob vows to continue trying to get the bigger story out. He exercises his own psychic abilities and, following some intense concentration, seemingly runs through a solid wall in his office.

Cast

From left to right: cast members Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, and director Grant Heslov attending the film's premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival The Men Who Stare at Goats cast TIFF09-crop.jpg
From left to right: cast members Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, and director Grant Heslov attending the film's premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival

The film's end titles expand on the characters' factual links with this proviso:

Although this film is inspired by John [sic] Ronson's book The Men Who Stare At Goats, it is fiction, and while the characters Lynn [sic] Cassady and Bill Django are based on actual persons, Sergeant Glenn Wheaton and Colonel [sic] Jim Channon, all other characters are invented or are composites, and not portrayals of actual persons. The filmmakers ask that no one attempt walking through walls, cloudbursting while driving, or staring for hours at goats with the intent of harming them...invisibility is fine.

Reception

Critical response

On review website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 51% based on 217 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Though The Men Who Stare at Goats is a mostly entertaining, farcical glimpse of men at war, some may find its satire and dark humor less than edgy." [11] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [12] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale. [13]

George Clooney's performance was very positively received. Mike Sheridan of entertainment.ie wrote, "Clooney shines in this remarkable story, based on actual events...Clooney is now pretty much the sole bearer of the 'classic movie star' tag, and once again, he injects a performance with a Coen brothers level of quirky. His twitches, his more ponderous moments; you buy this character because it's Clooney, and he's exceptional here." [14]

John Sergeant complaint

The film is inspired by British journalist Jon Ronson's book, which was accompanied by the 2004 Channel 4 three-part documentary Crazy Rulers of the World. In turn, Ronson had dedicated his book to journalist and filmmaker John Sergeant, who worked intensely through 2003 and 2004 on the documentary. However, Sergeant has complained he has not received any credit for his part in formulating what was the inspiration for the film. [5] [15] Sergeant's version of events is corroborated by a number of sources: the book The Men Who Stare at Goats itself is dedicated to Sergeant, and the afterword states: "John's research and guidance can be found on every page". Further, Colonel John B. Alexander – one of the story's leaders – has written to Sergeant: "If you want support for your position, tell reporters (or lawyers) to contact me. You were definitely the key person in developing the whole Goats project." [16]

Release

Home media

The Men Who Stare at Goats was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in Region 1 on March 23, 2010, [17] and was released in Region 2 on April 19, 2010. [18] The extras include "Goats Declassified: The Real Men of the First Earth Battalion".

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References

  1. 1 2 Goodridge, Mike (September 8, 2009). "The Men Who Stare At Goats". Screen Daily . Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  2. ↑ Fritz, Ben (November 5, 2009). "Movie projector: Holiday season kicks off with Disney's pricey 'Christmas Carol'". Los Angeles Times.
  3. ↑ "Movie The Men Who Stare at Goats – Box Office Data". The Numbers . Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  4. ↑ Steven Zeitchik (May 18, 2009). "Overture to get Clooney's 'Goats'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
  5. 1 2 Sergeant, John (November 18, 2009). "How My Involvement with The Men Who Stare at Goats Was Erased Entirely". Huffington Post . Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Gorgeous George Stares At Goats: Clooney becomes a psychic soldier". Empire. May 16, 2008.
  7. 1 2 "McGregor, Spacey, Bridges Stare At Goats". Empire. September 12, 2008. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Dargis, Manohla (November 5, 2009). "Mission Mind Control in Defense of America". Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Hambling, David (November 6, 2009). "Psychic Spies, Acid Guinea Pigs, New Age Soldiers: the True Men Who Stare at Goats". [Wired . Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Rebecca Mader joins 'Goats' herd". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on October 13, 2008.
  11. ↑ "The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  12. ↑ "The Men Who Stare at Goats Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Find CinemaScore" (Type "Men Who Stare at Goats" in the search box). CinemaScore . Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  14. ↑ Sheridan, Mike (October 23, 2009). "The Men Who Stare At Goats Review". entertainment.ie . Entertainment Media Networks. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  15. ↑ Akbar, Arifa (November 3, 2009). "Clooney caught in crossfire as war breaks out over latest film" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  16. ↑ Sergeant, John (November 18, 2009). "How My Involvement with The Men Who Stare at Goats Was Erased Entirely". Huffington Post. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  17. ↑ Amazon.com page for Men DVD
  18. ↑ Amazon.co.uk page for Men DVD
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