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When during a conference on
Bad Lieutenant a journalist
asked Herzog what message he was trying to convey by means of his movie, he
replied that if he wanted to get a message across, he would use FedEx
instead of crafting another film. Ironically, it’s the evil genius of
cinema, a man almost obsessed with movie making that treats us to this cold
shower. He reminds us that cinema is there to entertain and that even the
most believable documentary is lastly just a piece of fiction. And if you
still set your mind to communicating something significant to the people, at
least don’t make it boring and don’t leave a huge gap between the quality of
the message and the way you express it.
That said, The Men Who Stare At Goats
by Grant Heslov was a pleasant getaway from the pretentious, politically
involved, VFF sponsored intellectual masturbation that made me fall asleep
in the middle of the day. It’s a witty little comedy that’s more Coen-ish
than anything the Coens have ever done. First of all, it brings to new light
the genuine comedic talent of George Clooney. The longtime Coen collaborator
is finally given the chance he was deprived of in
Burn after reading, where he
wasn’t all that convincing in as an extremely good looking government agent
who resorts to internet dating. This time, equipped with an 80s porn star
moustache and a selection of questionable killing techniques, he introduces
us to Lyn Cassidy and the hilarious (and to some part true) story of a
special U.S. army unit that has been trained in the fields of the
paranormal. The comedy works through creating moments of embarrassment and
uneasiness (the Coens again), as most of the psychokinetic skills Lyn tries
to put into motion turn out to be a hoax or exercises in self-deception.
Another quality of the movie is the presence of Jeff Bridges, who does a
brilliant job at depicting the pioneer and guru of this strange army
movement. After painfully noticing during a dispatch in Vietnam that most of
his men don’t shoot to kill, he gets a dharmic vision which leads him to
believe that their natural good and gentleness can be channeled to create
invincible soldiers, destined to bring peace to the world. He turns from
army redneck to hippie, almost identical to the one Bridges played in
The Big Lebowsky, a movie
by…the Coens. After years of gathering valuable information from naturists
and Krishna followers he assembles a group of outsiders, who in the course
unorthodox, drug-induced training learn to use their minds as dangerous
weapons. The soldiers’ faith, especially Lyn’s, in what they’re being
taught, is as amusing as it is touching.
The downside of the movie though are Ewan McGregor and Kevin Specey. The
former I like very much, but I must admit he isn’t cut out to play in
comedies. The latter I simply hate, and it’s a shame the part of Cassidy’s
arch nemesis didn’t go to someone more capable, like Gary Oldman or Robert
Downey Jr.
All in all though, the movie is great entertainment and squeezes out quite a
few laughs if only you manage to look passed the constant references to the
Coens, which at some points are almost impertinent (just compare the posters
of TMWSAG and Burn After Reading).
But if Heslov’s movie was a conscious tribute to the Coens, he couldn’t have
done a better job and would easily deserve to be called the third Coen
brother.
12:09:2009
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