Fox Mulder was right. The truth really was out there all along. But, as Jon Ronsons excellent 2004 non-fiction book demonstrated, the reality of what certain elements of the US military and government were up to in the 70s and 80s, was far stranger than anything in The X Files.
Theres the army general, for example, who became so convinced that he could will his body to pass through solid objects that he actually physically ran into his office wall (he failed to get through it). There are the military operatives who, taking their cue from an earlier science fiction franchise, named themselves Jedi warriors. And then there are the men who stare at goats themselves: a crack division who become convinced that they could actually kill animals merely by deploying their psychic powers while staring at them, causing their hearts to explode. Goats are judged to be the perfect test subjects for these experiments, it is revealed, because while many soldiers felt uncomfortable staring at dogs, it is apparently much harder to forge an emotional bond with a goat.
Yet while the book was by turns hilarious and fascinating, there are causes for concern with the film. For one thing, this isnt a documentary. Director Grant Heslov has gone down the route of dramatising a non-fiction book a feat attempted before by Richard Linklater on his version of Eric Schlossers Fast Food Nation. The result then was a disaster.
Ewan MacGregor is also cast unconvincingly as a fictional American journo (presumably based on the books author Ronson: odd as he is British anyway), largely, it is presumed, so the Star Wars star can make play of the storys Jedi references. The Men Who Stare At Goats update the story to the present day and follows the journo as he stumbles onto the story of a secret psychic military unit, as well as coming across Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a special forces operative who truly believes in the parapsychological mission. The film also makes little attempt to confront the darker aspects of the book. The bohemian freethinking of the First Earth Battalion ultimately led to some of the torture methods used in the War on Terror, but this is only alluded to here.
Despite everything, The Men Who Stare At Goats still manages to be a consistently entertaining, compelling and amusing film. It doesnt hurt that a bit of effort has been made on the extras, although neither the commentary from director Heslov or from the books author are as exciting as they could have been. Other featurettes, however, give added weight to a narrative that is always difficult to 100% believe.
This subject is, however, fascinating enough to overcome most of its flaws. And yes, in case youre wondering, one goat did die during the many goat staring experiments. It may well have been just a coincidence, but for safetys sake, dont try it out on your hamster at home, just in case.
Overall Verdict: Undeniably a bit of a mess, but the story is bizarre and fascinating enough to win the day.
Special Features:
Goats Declassified: The Real Men of the First Earth Battalion Featurette
Project Hollywood: A Classified Report From The Set Featurette
Audio Commentary with Director Grant Heslov
Audio Commentary with Author Jon Ronson
Character Bios
Deleted Scenes
Reviewer: Chris Hallam