This is a rare moment of honesty about the requirements of this brand of masculinity, poignantly coming from the mouth of the film’s most prominent father figure.Īnd while some of the hazing scenes may seem ludicrous and hyperbolic, “Goat” is deeply rooted in a reality - a reality to which UCI is not immune. “That can’t happen again,” he shouts before ordering Brad to punch him repeatedly in the stomach. Later Franco’s character explains to Brad that he is never allowed to be vulnerable to attack again. He displays his affection by screaming at his brothers, “Get down here, you faggot, and suck my dick!” (Translation: Get down here and give me a hug because I’ve missed you.) Instead they are placed in opposition of each other, just as their frustrating but genuine connection is placed in opposition to the cruel world of fraternity brotherhood, leaving the audience to consider what really matters.Īdditionally, James Franco makes a cameo as an alumnus of the fraternity, returning to the scene of his glory days, now as a family man with a child of his own. However, neither brother is ever judged in these contrasting moments for what he says or how he acts. Brett is the attractive, tough, and charismatic impossible standard that Brad spends the entire film trying (and failing) to live up to. Within the first five minutes of the film, Brad is robbed and beaten to a pulp by two strangers he foolishly offers to drive home, meanwhile Brett is happily oblivious, having sex with a girl he met at a party. While the film focuses on Brad, his character is defined entirely by what he is not: namely, his older, stereotypically masculine brother, Brett.

In fact, the hazing sequences go so far as to intentionally mimic the play-acting harassment of the Stanford Prison Experiment with pledges lined up against the wall, forced to drink cup after cup of alcohol while brothers shout at them, “No one loves you! You don’t have any friends!” over and over.Īnd yet, in the midst of the violence, the bond between the two Land brothers remains intact to put all of the hard-earned “love” between fraternity brothers into perspective.

Produced by James Franco and written by David Gordon Greer, “Goat” offers an intense but artistically understated look at a particular, yet representative college fraternity and the system of (predominantly white) male aggression that it perpetuates.įull of cruel and unusual hazing, emotional repression and impossible lifestyle standards, this film has it all.

“Goat” is a story of brothers - both the manufactured fraternity term and the actual familial relationship between Brett and Brad Land (played by Nick Jonas and Ben Schnetzer) - whose life experiences in the university Greek system inspired the 2005 memoir of the same name.

Goat by Brad Land