The Men Who Stare at Goats is a satire built on a strange premise: a reporter in Iraq meets a man who claims to have served in a U.S. Army unit that used psychic powers in its missions. The film, directed by Grant Heslov and written by Peter Straughan, draws on Jon Ronson’s 2004 book about the U.S. military’s experiments with paranormal abilities as weapons. It stars George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey.
Trailer, via HD Retro Trailers.
Lyn Cassady and the New Earth Army
The journalist Bob Wilton, portrayed by Ewan McGregor, is a gentle, probing reporter whose wife departs for his editor. He sets out for Kuwait to cover the Iraq War and comes across Lyn Cassady, played by George Clooney. Cassady says he served with the “New Earth Army”, a unit that taught operatives to master parapsychological abilities such as turning invisible, seeing distant places, and passing through solid objects.
The movie follows the birth of the unit to 1972, when Army officer Bill Django, played by Jeff Bridges, fell from a helicopter in Vietnam. His troops would not or would not shoot at a Viet Cong soldier before Django took a bullet to the chest. Afterward, he saw a vision of a female Viet Cong soldier who said “their gentleness is their strength.”, which spurred him to journey to Northern California, where he joined in naked hot tub gatherings, primitive arm wrestling, and the beyond jogging trend.
Back at Fort Bragg in 1980, Django had embraced the New Age movement, sporting long braided hair and a chest tattoo featuring an All-seeing Eye atop a pyramid. Under his guidance, the credulous General Dean Hopgood, portrayed by Stephen Lang, trained the New Earth Army. Among his top students were Lyn Cassady and Larry Hooper, played by Kevin Spacey.
“Their gentleness is their strength.”
Larry Hooper and the Dark Side
Lyn Cassady wants to emphasize the teachings’ positive side, focusing on resolving conflict peacefully. Larry Hooper, the film’s main antagonist, is interested in the “dark side” of the New Earth Army’s military application. He wishes to use the non-lethal technologies in harmful ways.
The rivalry between the two runs through the film. Clooney’s Cassady is a combination of several real-life “psychic” spies. Bridges’s Django is based on Jim Channon, who spent two years in the 1970s investigating new age movements and wrote an operations manual for a First Earth Battalion.
The character who plays the dark side of the New Earth Army is Ewan McGregor’s Bob Wilton is apparently inspired by Ronson, the mild-mannered investigative journalist who uncovers the bizarre truth. Kevin Spacey plays Larry Hooper as the film’, serving as the main antagonist in the story.
Todd Nixon and the Iraq War
Todd Nixon runs a private security firm in post-invasion Iraq, played by Robert Patrick. Gus Lacey, portrayed by Stephen Root, brings Bob into the New Earth Army’s ideas. Glenn Morshower takes on Major Jim Holtz, a more by-the-book soldier. Waleed Zuaiter plays Mahmud Daash, the Iraqi who is captured alongside Cassady and Wilton. Nick Offerman plays Scotty Mercer, while Rebecca Mader plays Debora Wilton.
The picture had its first showing at the 66th Venice International Film Festival on September 8, 2009, and went on to open in the United States and the United Kingdom on November 6. Critics responded with a mix of praise and dissent.
The End Titles and the Disclaimer
The film’s end titles expand on the characters’ factual links. The filmmakers note that the film is inspired by Jon Ronson’s book, but the disclaimer states that Lyn Cassady and Bill Django are based on actual persons, Sergeant Glenn Wheaton and Colonel Jim Channon. All other characters are invented or are composites, and not portrayals of actual persons.
The filmmakers have stipulated that nobody should try to walk through walls, unleash a storm while behind the wheel, or fix their gaze on goats for hours with the intention of injuring them. Becoming invisible, however, remains perfectly acceptable.
| Date | Event |
| — | — | — |
| September 8, 2009 | Premiered at the 66th Venice International Film Festival |
| November 6 | Released in the United States and the United Kingdom |
The humor depends largely on exaggeration, and the acting does most of the work. Clooney and Spacey give pointed, engaged performances, while Bridges anchors the entire project with a real sense of danger.
What carries the movie through is its dedication to its central idea. What holds it back is that the idea is so slight that it barely manages to support a complete feature. The jokes are frequently clever, yet they seldom reach deep enough to land a real hit. The final product is a film that is amusing in fits and starts, but frustratingly slight throughout.
This film belongs to a genre that has delivered far more notable results than this modest offering. The premise here is more striking than the actual carrying out of the story. Rather than being remembered for how well it was made, it will probably live on simply because of what it proposes.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
